


Play the Odds

by spiritsl



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Cyberverse
Genre: Allspark, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Breeding, Childbirth, Dubious Consent, Enemies to Friends, Extremely Dubious Consent, F/M, Pregnancy, Public Sex, Sticky Sexual Interfacing, Transformer Sparklings, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2020-10-18 16:26:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 37,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20642159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiritsl/pseuds/spiritsl
Summary: Faced with an unpleasant dilemma from a Seeker with a messiah complex, Slipstream makes a choice that she knows will save her in the short term, but doesn't know will redirect her entire future





	1. Choice

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILERS FOR CYBERVERSE
> 
> This is a crack fic, written purely both to amuse and comfort myself after certain events in season two. It combines my favorite Decepticon lady bot, my love for pregnant robots, and my strong desire for no one to die. Should you share these traits, it will likely be enjoyable for you as well. If not, sorry, can't please everyone. Tags will be added as story progresses.

"Lord Starscream, Vector Sigma is ready." Acid Storm said, hand on the glowing shield protecting the complex holomatter engine. The great construct was humming in what sounded like contentment, the unfathomable artificial intelligence within probably excited to be at work for the first time since their species fall from the golden age and ready to show the gathered crowd of Seekers what it could accomplish.

"At last!" Starscream bellowed, standing before them in his suit of Allspark forged armor. Of all present, he was most thoroughly enthused, all but pumping his wings in triumph. Turning on his heels to face the crowd, he preened with even greater than average volume.

"You're lucky to be here! You will witness the beginning of a new era! My era!"

Slipstream was thoroughly frozen where she was in the crowd of her former followers, not so much from the terror coursing through her spark but instead due to her duties as a still loyal Decepticon. Even if she could make her escape at this moment, what good would an incomplete report do for Megatron? It was bad enough that Starscream held all the cards, so knowing his intentions with them was key to stopping his plans. She just had to ignore her sense of self preservation for a little longer, and stay alive long enough to see what the deranged former second in command intended to create. Then she could flee for her life and deliver the information.

Starscream wasted no time putting the next step into action, looking to where the Seeker was standing and offering a hand.

"Slipstream! Step forward!"

Slipstream froze, knowing at that moment her plans had just become as good as scrap.

"What?" She gasped, looking about to the other Seekers to see if they were as surprised as she was. Judging by their expectant looks, this was far from not being the plan.

"I said I intended to show you what I can do with the Allspark, did I not? Step forward, and into your destiny!" Starscream invited, moving a single pace towards her. Flinching, she took an equal step backwards, disguising her fear with a glare.

"No way!"

His smile was replaced with a frown of frustration, his gaze going past her with a signaling nod. Before she could even imagine what he was playing at, two of her former charges grabbed her from behind, each taking an arm to pin her where she stood. On instinct, she tried to struggle, unfurling her wings to attempt a hit on her captors. More than familiar with her tricks, they dodged without loosening their grips, keeping her standing at attention before their reanimated leader.

"So what? This is your great plan for the Allspark? Using it to terminate bots one at a time?" She spat, hiding fear behind her anger. There was no way she'd grovel in the end, even if she'd much, much rather have lived...

"Who said anything about terminating you?" Starscream replied with a laugh, gesturing to the powerful tools at his disposal with a theatrical wave of both hands. "I intend to create the next step in our evolution! Our species will be remade in my image, to ensure a glorious era of peace and prosperity! But first, the next generation must begin with what little we have left of our kind. That is where you come in, as our first experiment."

"I don't understand." She said, somehow more confused and more terrified than she'd been before. He looked annoyed for a moment, then shook his head and lit up with a proud grin.

"Isn't it simple enough? With the power of the Allspark, I shall rewrite the core of our coding, and pass my brilliance on to a new race of Cybertronians! You have the most important role; carrying that progeny into being! If you and I can achieve success, then others will follow, and the next step of our evolution will begin!"

There was little enough to misunderstand, and she gave another struggle against her captors in disgust. He wanted to _breed_ with her. "That is _not_ happening!"

"Your hesitation is understandable; who but I wouldn't cower in the face of such a burden? None have even managed to become sparked since our kind lost the Allspark, and the cycle of rebirth ceased. But fear not! Vector Sigma will allow us to guide the power to force conception. You will have our undying protection, and whether you succeed or fail, our kind will sing your name for ages to come!" Starscream carried on, heedless to her resistance or not bothered enough by it to show he cared. Her spark heaved in a mix of revulsion and a new kind of fear she didn't want to acknowledge. Sparklings were indeed something their species needed, but Starscream was as vile as they came in her optics. Even she couldn't grin and bare it with _him._

"Listen to him, Slipstream." Nova Storm said, sounding more like she was trying to comfort her former commander. Stepping to be in her line of sight, she held up her hands helplessly as she explained. "Before you, I was the volunteer. But I gave up that honor so Starscream could help you understand. Don't you want to help our kind?"

"You all realize this is madness, don't you?! He's gone insane and lured you in to some kind of sick breeding cult! Don't you remember your loyalty? Don't you remember what we've been fighting for?!"

"This is bigger than bots or cons!" Nova Storm yelled, desperate instead of angry. Within her optics was genuine vulnerability as she spoke. "There's so few of us left, and Starscream is offering a chance to rebuild without anyone else having to die. Didn't you always want that chance? To ensure our sparklings get the life we couldn't? You once told me, long ago, about how you would hold your own on Cybertron when we were done-"

She snarled the other Seeker into silence, angered to have had a moment of weakness between femmes be used against her and so publicly revealed. "This _isn't _how it's supposed to be done! And even if it was, it doesn't matter, because you can't make me do this!"

"Luckily, I can!"

Starscream entered the shield surrounding Vector Sigma and, without any of his usual theatrics, pressed the activation sigil. Slipstream struggled anew as the ancient technology began to glow, a third Seeker grabbing her from behind to keep her still. The attempts to wiggle free halted when both Vector Sigma and the Allspark thrummed with life, their consciences reaching out to mingle with one another like old friends in a language long forgotten. The conversation made the air vibrate and crackle with energy. Only a moment passed before glowing tendrils seeped from both, twisting and turning blindly until they met in the middle and melded into one. Every spark was pulsing in tune to the rhythmic pounding of power as the tendrils began to knit a shape between them, hot coils rolling precisely until a strand of CNA had been constructed in likeness. It floated silently for a moment, the room going quiet and still before it jerked and seemed to find a target.

Slipstream recoiled when she felt a consciousness greater than any being she'd known turn its gaze on her. There was no time to resist before the tendrils dove for her, their conjoined tips plunging right into her spark.

In that moment, she and reality parted ways.

There was no Bunker, no Starscream, and no band of traitorous Seekers. Just a familiar, all encompassing presence given shape by the power afforded by Vector Sigma. Despite her lack of spirituality, she knew she was communing with the Allspark, even if her own spark was still living free. It's consciousness felt like the sky; an unending blanket that surrounded her without stifling her. It spoke in whispers that weren't really words, as well as pictures that looked like dreams and emotions more intense than anything she'd ever felt. It was a difficult language to truly understand, but the meaning it was conveying was clear enough.

The Allspark offered its sympathy, its endless being aching at the thought of even one of its children suffering as she had, but it also had a proposal. She struggled to follow along as it tried to explain the scale of its vision, her single spark unable to comprehend the vastness of what she was seeing, and her processor began to ache under the strain. The Allspark slowed down, showing her flashes of their race before the war and the many billions of bots living in peace. Then came the fire of conflict, and suddenly a wave of sparks cried out in agony as their lives were cut short, their pain so intense through the memories that her own spark seared in shared pain. She saw their numbers dwindle to the precious few alive today, and for the first time felt the silence left by the fallen. Still separate from the world in real time, she felt hot tears of loss for her people, suddenly truly aware of how great a toll the war had taken on her kind.

"I didn't know..." She said without speaking, feeling woefully unprepared to face the pain of a near God. Everything leading up to this moment felt inconsequential now. What did her suffering matter in the face of billions? How could any war she'd taken part in be worth this much death? The Allspark offered comfort. Her trials were worth everything in its optics, just as all of its children and their lives were never without value. But it had a truly pressing concern to share. There was a limit to its abilities, and those limits were becoming more restrictive with age... It had once crafted the first wave of Cybertronians, building each one with love and care and gifting all with unique personalities and thoughts so they could go forth and build their world. But that effort had drained it considerably, and in the face of how little remained-

"You can't replace what we lost." She finished, suddenly awash in hopelessness. The Allspark had been their last chance to save the planet and replenish their numbers, and they had been chasing it for millions of years. To suddenly find out that hope was unfounded, in addition to everything else, was almost to much for her hardened spark. Comfort came to her again, as well as regret that the burden had to be shared with her. It had tried to share it before, she realized, with Starscream, but his arrogance had twisted its goal. It wanted the fighting to end, for the remaining few to come together and rebuild, and share in the joy of creation in the face of what had once been destruction... But he'd seen only his chance to seize glory and rewrite the future in his image. It was far from what it had hoped.

"Then what do I do? Why talk to me, just to say everything is hopeless?" She demanded, far from the wonder she'd felt when it had first reached out to her. There was an apology, but then an assurance. All was certainly not lost, and it wouldn't have put forth the effort to commune if it didn't believe it could help. There was little it could do to help her escape at present, as Vector Sigma bound it as much as it revitalized it, but it could see dimly into the future, and it had a plan. If she attempted to resist Starscream and fled, it saw only her return to its fold. A fancy way of saying death, she realized. But if she went with his plan, it could work with her, and help guide her to freedom... But it had to confess, its guidance was not without bias. It wanted her to live a long life, free of oppression and bloodshed, but that the path leading to what it hoped would be such a fate also involved her carrying was... not to its disliking.

She was smart enough to understand, as vague and distant as the Allspark tried to be. It was on her side and wanted to avoid anyone dying, but if it also got a sparkling out of the deal if she played along with Starscream... Well, that was a plus it couldn't be blind to. And crazy as it sounded, she understood where it was coming from, thanks in part to its very convincing show. It had been doing nothing but taking in sparks from the fallen for millions of years, to allow a single one to finally enter the cycle of rebirth in the form of a new being was... everything, to the Allspark. But she wasn't yet convinced.

"So I don't have a choice then? Have a sparkling with _Starscream_, against my will, or die?" She spat, suddenly aware that the ache in her spark was more hopeless than angry. She knew she wasn't venting her anger to the appropriate source. But it was all she had. Eventually this connection would pass, and she'd return to the hell of her current predicament. What good did it do to pretend she was okay with it, just to appease a helpless god?

She was enshrouded in an embrace of love and support, the Allspark wrapping her in its consciousness to comfort her. It felt every bit of her woe, and it shared in her desire for freedom. There was always a choice, it assured, even if it couldn't guarantee her fate. It wouldn't force her to do anything, as Primus had promised, they would always have free will. But its gaze into the future, foggy though it may have been, warned of danger unless the more difficult path was chosen. It would come down to her whether she wished to chance fate or not, and at the end of it all, it would be waiting for her with open arms regardless.

"I guess it's my call, then." She said, finding more comfort in that than anything else. It wasn't a good choice, but it was hers, and she could own it. She already knew what she would do, and the certainty seemed to satisfy the Allspark, it's great consciousness giving her one final embrace before it began to withdraw from her mind. It would be with her as much as it could for the coming trials, even if only in presence, and that was enough for her. After all, she'd certainly survived worse, and she'd be damned if some former Decepticon toadie was going to break her.

Reality came back a little more unpleasantly than she was expecting. Her body was exhausted and shaking on its knees, and she found herself taking in deep vents of stale bunker air to cool her insides. A few tears were dotting her cheeks, and she rubbed them away with a hand that trembled from the effort. She looked around to see she was back exactly where she'd left, with only a few moments of difference despite what had felt like hours in her mind. No one knew what she had seen, or what she'd learned, and judging by the looks of shock on the gathered faces, they hadn't expected what had happened either. How the tables had turned, finally she was the only one not in the dark...

Starscream kneeled before her, putting a hand beneath her chin and tilting her face to look at him. He was just as arrogant and overpowered as before, but somehow she was far less afraid of him now, knowing how his bloated ego had led him to misinterpret the Allspark and it's wishes. It was something she'd easily be able to manipulate.

"Now do you accept?" He asked, theatrical smirk of confidence and all. He was certain she'd seen what he had in her conference, and had come to the conclusion that he was the savior of their race, destined to save them through the conception of a new generation, just as he had. As always, his arrogance was blinding. But she'd long since learned how to play that to her favor. There were indeed two options before her; a choice, all hers to make. She could use his self assurance to gain the element of surprise, and make her escape, if she wanted to chance the warning she'd been given. Or she could play along. The fact that it would involve being sparked, becoming a carrier, and everything that went with it was... not ideal, certainly, but something she knew she could handle. The Allspark had definitely helped make the scale of things easier to understand; enough so that even fragging Starscream was doable. So long as she had a choice, she could overcome anything.

With as much confidence as a bot could have in her situation, she made her decision. Closing her optics, she took a deep, steadying vent, and spoke.

"I do."


	2. Create

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do dig how quickly the Seekers got a Starscream cult going, even in the show, so some of that dynamic will be reflected here. Things heat up in this chapter, so if you're more into the babies than them being made, I suggest waiting for updates.

Starscream looked thrilled at what he probably thought was was less of a choice than an act of obedient submission, but Slipstream couldn't have cared less. She was focused on getting through the next step; interfacing with the former second in command. There was less revulsion for her now than a sense of dread about how terribly awkward it would be, but something primal in her circuitry was helping to lessen the burden. It had been a _long_ time since she'd had any kind of... well, anything resembling intimacy of any kind. Seekers liked to frag often and long, but not when you were there boss. Something to break the dry spell wasn't too terrible. Plus, there were certain rumors about Starscream and his, ahem, prowess in certain areas. If there was any truth to that, she might enjoy herself too much to care who she was fragging. If only she could get in the mood...

Starscream lifted her to her feet with surprisingly careful hands, and she allowed herself to think that meant he was at least capable of basic decency. He guided her to stand between Vector Sigma and the Allspark, which were still intermingling their glowing tendrils. Unlike before though, they seemed to be waiting, the hum of their energy sounding settled.

"Be still, reach out with your spark, and let the combined influence flow through you." He instructed, stepping behind her so she faced the meeting point alone. Guessing that before had just been a warm up, she tried to do as she was told, uncertain as to exactly how she could "reach" with a spark. Settling for just keeping an open mind and trying to will her acceptance, she wondered if the Allspark was telepathic enough to read her thoughts. To her great surprise, it responded within her mind, a joyous flash of enthusiasm that came with a visible change to the arc of energy above them. Though she couldn't understand it as before, she could decipher a sense of relief through the connection, likely because her decision was the least risky of the two options. And would result in it getting a new life out of the deal.

A new tendril, thin and wispy, sprung forth from the apex and connected straight to her spark. A powerful shock of sensation and energy nearly knocked her to the ground, but Starscream held her up, his hands steadying her shoulders. Ancient, primal essence swirled through her body, lighting up the creases of her armor with a blue glow as she struggled to contain the rush. However, the feeling was far from unpleasant. She felt _alive_, like every circuit and fuse was brimming with the energy of a prime, and her form was being reshaped for something glorious. The Allspark whispered to her, in her head instead of her spark, that it was preparing her for what was to come. Warmth blossomed from her lower belly, along with a strong craving that she immediately recognized as being similiar to a heat cycle. This, however, was much, much stronger...

Suddenly this didn't seem like such a bad idea. In fact, it was probably the best idea she'd heard in a long time, and she was eager to get going. Having a sparkling was a dream from her youth she'd given up on for so long, and now it was right in her grasp, allowing her to also add a critical addition to their species. Who cared if the sire was less than ideal? The very thought of being sparked up, her reproduction chamber heavy with a sparkling all her own, was making her body quiver. And it certainly wasn't just the reproductive protocols talking...

"You feel it, don't you? The power of the Allspark, guided by Vector Sigma, allowing your body to know the possibility of creation again." Starscream said, standing by her side. Slipstream couldn't have cared less about what he had to say. This was for her future, and the real future of their kind, let the deluded mech have his God complex. The glow peaking out from the seams in her armor was nearly white now, and she was having a hard time standing under the rush of what was definitely arousal making her body quiver. If they didn't get to the actual sparkling making parts soon she'd have to just jump him in a closet somewhere...

He moved in front of her, the extra height offered by his armor allowing him to look down upon her. "Then let's begin..."

Despite all of her enthusiasm, the realization that he meant right where they were hit right through to her still dignified core, and she looked over her shoulder to the many Seekers still expectantly watching.

"Oh, in front of...?"

"A bit of a return to Seeker tradition, at my request." He bragged, bringing back memories of the once common group or public interface sessions the Decepticon hierarchy had been quick to ban and brand a shameful display. It had been even longer since she'd done anything with an audience... But she was far too desperate to complain much about her former teammates watching. Let them see what they'd been missing.

Slipstream was guided to the ground with the grace and careful handling of experience, giving her the first real hint that perhaps the rumors about Starscream were indeed more than just idle gossip. Her whole body was alight now, making her wonder if she looked like something out of an old mural of the long gone rituals to appease Solus with passionate, sparkling producing fragging. She was more of a living version of them actually, she supposed.

Starscream broke her thoughts with a kiss, the first she'd had in eons. She returned it, no longer caring too much who she was fragging but still keeping her optics closed. He was surprisingly good at it, cupping the side of her face and opening his mouth to empassion the kiss. She returned it eagerly, ready to get down to business. The power the ancient technology wielded was fully focused on keeping her reproduction chamber primed, and she wanted it filled. Lubricant was already dampening her valve, the walls growing slick and flexible to accept whatever the other Seeker was offering. Briefly, she wondered if the Allspark had enhanced that part of him as well...

Much to her surprise, he didn't dive right in, instead choosing to let his hands and mouth wander. It was a very pleasant turn of events. Starscream was considerate of every inch of exposed mesh, seeking out her glowing transformation seams and lavishing them with attention fit for a femme intended to carry his sparklings. She was too far gone to return the favor, but it occured to her, in the dim parts of her processor still working with thoughts instead of instinct, that his pleasure likely came from pleasing others. The rumors were indeed true. But she wasn't here to test them. Wanting things to get moving, she fumbled with the front of her armor, eager to get her chest plates open and her pelvic plates out of the way.

"Eager, aren't we?" Starscream teased, drawing an indignant huff from her vents. She was working to enjoy herself here, and it wouldn't happen if he tried to preen and frag at the same time. "I won't make you wait then..."

He pressed down on a few key spots on her armor, and she gasped as her chest plates snapped open, revealing her spark and it's almost deafening hum. The glow from within was near blinding. Ancient as the technology may have been, it was powering her body to limitless capabilities, likely making any bot watching unable to see more than a blur of light. Not caring how exposed she was, she finished the job and opened her pelvic plating, exposing a valve that was lubed up and ready despite her neglect of its needs. With the power of the Allspark on her side, she was certain she could have taken even the bulkiest Combiner.

Sighing as he finally opened his own chest, she offered her spark for merging, eager to get going. All she really cared about in that moment was creation and a long, long overdue overload.

A hand on her spark casing shocked her already overwhelmed neural net, sending waves of pleasure to every receptor as the hypersensitive organ was played with. Spasming, she grabbed hold of his shoulders, seeing static from the rush. Chuckling at the reaction, he showed mercy and removed his hand, taking his position and spreading her legs. _Finally..._ she thought, still a little dazed from the encounter. Sparks were always sensitive, but that had been on another level, making her wonder if their current set up had anything to do with it. Perhaps the Allspark had other uses no one had put enough thought into...

Something hot and firm pressed against her valve, and she stopped caring about anything else. Finally time for the part she really wanted. He didn't feel especially big, but Seekers never were, and she knew well enough that skill mattered far more than size. Feeling the already thick wash of lubricant that greeted him, Starscream pumped his wings in triumphant delight, then started to push himself inside.

Slipstream bit her lip at the long absent girth of a spike opening her up. She'd almost forgotten what it was like. Sensors came back online to a heavenly rush of sweet, slick friction as she was filled and he began to move, thrusting with precision and care. Angling her hips to better take him in, she shivered as he finally brought his chest down, bringing their sparks close enough to mingle. The combined pleasure likely wouldn't let her last for long.

Thinking about how this would certainly result in a sparkling wasn't turning her off either. That would give her her own power too. What bot would dare touch her if she was carrying the first sparkling in millions of years? Any demands she made would be met without hesitation. Yes, she rather liked that.

Keeping her optics closed, she secured her legs around his waist and focused on getting where she needed to be. The tingle of an overload was already building deep inside of her. Their sparks began to deepen their connection, made stronger by the presence of an enhanced Allspark guiding them together, creating a bridge for a new spark to form in the melding and be reborn. While such merging normally came with emotional intimacy, Slipstream only felt raw pleasure, not that she minded. A purely physical conception was fine for her.

Arching her hips with a tilt, she sought out the perfect angle for him to hit her sweet spot, only for his hands to take hold of her thighs as he pulled her into the position to do so. Frag, he _did_ know what he was doing. The bundle of sensors just inside her valve was getting a very nice hit every time he thrusted, making her bite her lip to hold back moans she didn't want him to have the satisfaction of hearing.

Spark and reproduction chamber working in time, she knew she was close. More importantly, she could feel... something, happening as a result. It was a feeling beyond explanation. Like a perfect constellation of power was aligning inside of her. Was this what getting sparked really felt like? Perhaps only when you had a deity helping out.

A particularly passionate thrust drew her first cry, and she decided she didn't care. Letting him know he was doing a good job wasn't such a terrible thing. Especially with a familiar warmth building in her valve. The coiling and building of pleasure was starting to take a very long missed shape, creating an epicenter that she knew would burst in a rather sizable overload across her entire neural net. She was already sweating coolant from the exertion and sheer drain of the buildup.

_A little more... a little more..._ She chanted to herself, face set tight in pleasured concentration. Her whole body was one, hot beam of light as she neared climax, her strut arching up to meet Starscream with every thrust. Each one took her a single step closer to the edge. Everything else melted away as she dangled over the final precipice, body shaking in exhaustion and overwhelming stimulation for that final moment.

It was his own finish that gave her what she'd been looking for. A burst of warm transfluid in her valve synchronized with a visible jolt down the tendrils connecting their sparks, and she saw white as the light became blinding and her overload hit. Electricity arked away from her as she came, gasping and moaning without a care as she felt pleasure and energy course through her entire being. It was the most alive she'd ever felt. There was the incredible burst of _something _happening inside of her, somewhat akin to a particularly perfect transformation when all parts of her body worked together and it felt so wonderfully natural to become something new... And then she was done, and so was everything else.

Nothing but satisfaction remained when the Allspark retreated, it's job complete. She noticed it's loss, but felt no lonlier for it's absence. A smile even pulled at the corners of her mouth. That had felt _good,_ and she'd never been more certain of a decision than she did in that afterglow. She felt like she could take on the world... once she could move her legs.

Starscream withdrawing brought her a bit more fully to reality. Gasping at the emptiness, she covered herself instinctively, moving her armor back into place. Starscream stood, looking far less sapped than she was save for a barely perceptible tremble in his legs.

"I'd certainly call our first step a success." He declared, slipping his spike back inside as it began to go limp in satisfaction. She tried to sit up at least, but found a total lack of strength in every limb. Head swimming with exhaustion, she rolled onto her side, looking out at the still gathered Seekers who'd just watched the entire ordeal. All looked flustered, some embarrassed, and others even looked envious.

"Nova Storm, Acid Storm, take her to the quarters we established. The rest of you, take your patrols! Our vigil begins now!" Starscream barked, sounding far more pleased than anyone had ever heard him. Slipstream felt the two femmes each take one of her arms and lift, helping her to her feet. Too drained to even stand, she allowed the support from her former teammates, whole body still trembling and sweating from the ordeal. She knew her next step would be to rest, likely for a long while, as she'd need her strength before she could even decide on her next step.

"We have a special room for the first bot to carry. You'll have privacy while you rest." Acid Storm explained, guiding her along the tunnels. She was almost too far gone to care. Primus, that had sapped everything she had. Was it normal to be this tired after fragging? Even with a demigod involved? Keeping her head up was proving an unimaginable challenge, and thinking was out of the question entirely.

"You've done us all a great service, Slipstream. If you succeed, there really is hope for all of us." Nova Storm added, her voice far away as she heard a door opening. The only thing she was coherent enough to recognize was a berth in a nice, dark room. Allowing herself to be helped onto it, she went completely limp, the tiniest tremble still visible in her limbs. Recharge wasn't calling her as much as unconsciousness was.

"Somebot will be guarding the door at all times. You'll be safe. I'll have fuel and... something to wash with ready for when you wake up."

As her last bit of thought before she slipped under, she murmured an acknowledgement, settling deeply into the surprisingly comfortable berth. "Yeah, sure..."


	3. Confirmation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Its my headcannon that sparklings and their respective sparks are in the reproduction chamber, but there's a connection to the carrier that's present from conception to birth.

Slipstream slipped in and out of a confusing recharge for what felt like hours, her optics cracking open every so often to take in her strange surroundings before insatiable exhaustion pulled her back under. Flashes of intimacy and whispers of an ancient being colored her dreams. Nothing felt real until a subsequent wakeful period finally brought her close enough to reality for her processor to start making sense of things. This wasn't her berth in the Nemesis, something very odd had happened before she'd gotten here, and her body was still drained beyond belief. She needed to rise and make sense of everything.

Hunger gave her the final motivation she needed to wake for real. Rubbing the static from her optics, she lifted a shaking helm to squint into the darkness, unable to see much until she adjusted. The room was of human make, and very old. But the berth she was on was Cybertronian, as were the desk and chair across from it. In fact, she recognized them as Nemesis standard. Clearly someone had been pilfering from the ship, even if only for nonessentials.

A cube of energon on the desk took all of her concern away from stolen furniture. Empty tanks rumbling for fuel, she pushed herself upright, arms shaking in a struggle she hadn't expected. Ignoring it, she managed to throw her limp legs off the berth, ventilating hard from the simple effort of just trying to get up. Primus, she'd never been so weak in her life. It was as if something had sapped all the life out of her, leaving her a shaking, hungry mess. Perhaps fuel would give her some of her strength back. Pushing off the berth, she took her first step to the desk.

And promptly collapsed to her knees with a clang.

Cursing the pain and the frustration of being so helpless, she was left fumbling to stand when a bot sized door clicked at her side. Freezing in terror, it occurred to her she'd have no chance to fight whoever entered as it swung open.

Only to reveal Nova Storm and Thundercracker.

"Slipstream!" Nova Storm cried out with concern, coming to her side and hooking an arm beneath hers. Thundercracker took her other arm, and together her two former subordinates lifted her with out of character gentleness back onto the berth. Completely blindsided, she was speechless as Thundercracker apologized with his usual downcast optics in most unusual sincerity.

"We're sorry, we didn't know you were up."

Slipstream was staring between the two, still too lost to even get a hold on their strange behavior. Everything that had led her to this moment was a blur, making her wonder if she'd taken a hit to the head before waking up.

"Nova Storm? Thundercracker? What's going on?" She asked, hoping for an explanation. The two looked to each other, expressions confused, before Nova Storm answered.

"We were guarding your door as Starscream ordered. He didn't want anyone to wake you until you'd rested on your own." She explained, putting a few pieces together for Slipstream. Starscream, he was alive and her Seekers were his once again. That was coming back to her. But was she his prisoner? If so, she was being treated very kindly. "But, since you're awake; Thundercracker, you'd better get Acid Storm."

The blue mech was off with a nod, looking happy to be free of the situation. Now Slipstream only had more questions. Where was everyone else? Were all the Seekers there? She knew the Nemesis crew didn't know where they were, but what was the plan for all of this? The memories were starting to take shape, but a great wall seemed to be holding her back from the truth, preventing her from putting the one final puzzle piece in place.

"Why do we need Acid Storm? What's going on?"

Nova Storm looked more confused, then concerned, a rare look for a Decepticon. She answered slowly. "You remember what happened, don't you? You and Starscream... Acid Storm has a tool that can test if you conceived."

The last word cut right through her wall of uncertainty with an explosion of realization. She remembered now. The choice she'd made, what she'd done, and what had been done to her. And that it had all been with Starscream. All the bravery she'd had in the face of it wasn't there to help her now, and she was suddenly very, very overwhelmed. They'd interfaced, connected to the source of all life, with the intent of making a new one within her. Despite the absurdity, her optics flew to her midsection, where she saw only a normal stomach instead of the late term swell her horrified mind imagined. But it didn't help.

"I remember." She said with strain, doing everything to hide her internal breakdown. No one needed to know she wasn't on board with this. As far as Starscream and his little cult needed to believe, she was dutifully fulfilling her promised role. "I'm just... very drained. It took a lot out of me."

"I believe it. You were out for over a solar cycle. I'd heard getting sparked could drain a bot, but I was starting to worry." Nova Storm replied, looking relieved in more ways than one. Slipstream took in the additional information with a steadying vent. Being a warrior made taking multiple blows easier, but she still felt like she'd taken a blaster to the head, complete with an ache starting to drum in her processor. It was all just too much. And being physically as frail as she'd ever been wasn't helping, as well as being hungry...

A loud rumble in her tanks signalled an agreement, and her face lit up in a blush at her lack of control. Nova Storm only looked apologetic, scrambling to grab the cube that had started the whole ordeal then offering it to her former leader.

"Sorry, you must be starving!" She said, letting Slipstream take it and uncap the seal. It was simple rations grade, but Slipstream tilted her helm back and drank like it was the highest quality energon she'd ever tasted. After a few deep gulps, she stopped, not wanting to look desperate. Nova Storm stood almost expectantly, like a servant waiting to be called on. It occurred to her that, given her former charges new infatuation for Starscream and his perceived messiah status, she herself likely held high regard for carrying the first of what they planned to be many sparklings. Something to keep in mind, even if it made her thoroughly uncomfortable.

"What's the next step, assuming it worked?" She asked, being purposefully vague so she didn't have to speak the event out loud. Interfacing in public hadn't really bothered her, she'd done it before, like most Seekers. It was the "with Starscream" and "to conceive" parts she really didn't want to think about.

"Starscream wants you to rest, under constant guard." Nova Storm replied, ignoring the possibility of failure quite pointedly. And why should she, Slipstream supposed. What were the chances it _hadn't_ worked? Not a helpful thought. "The rest of us will work on getting all the supplies we need. A sparkling takes a lot of resources, turns out." Lightening her tone at the last sentence like a joke, she put on what she probably hoped was an encouraging smile. It wasn't, not to Slipstream anyway. Painfully awkward silence descended between them, which Slipstream avoided by taking the cube to her mouth for a long drink.

Once again the door clicked open, and a familiar green femme poked inside. Slipstream barely managed to avoid choking on her last sip. Acid Storm was just as friendly as Nova Storm, but her presence, particularly the device held in her hand, made her spark recoil in terror. There would be no freedom to doubt it was used. She felt more like a bot being brought to execution than someone about to find out if they were carrying or not. Primus,_ c__arrying_, just the word was enough to make her feel ready to purge.

"Thundercracker came and said you were awake. Are you feeling okay?" Acid Storm said politely, holding the controller like device to her chest. Slipstream kept her optics on it like she would a weapon.

"Better, just tired." She lied, keeping her face stony and hoping it could pass as exhaustion. It felt like she was flying in the eye of a storm, her whole body tensing in preparation for something earth shattering. Either she was sparked, or she wasn't. If she wasn't, she had no idea what they'd do with her. Just try again? Would she allow them? And if she was, if it had succeeded and she was indeed carrying, what challenges would she have to face then?

"That's to be expected. Especially after being connected to Vector Sigma _and_ the Allspark. Shockwave told me a little about how it could overwhelm bots even after strengthening them." Acid Storm said, sounding like she was padding out the conversation. It was quite possible the other bots in the bunker were anxious about the results too, Slipstream concluded. She kept her optics on the device. It looked old and worn, but also like it had been given some recent work, with a few shiny patch jobs glinting amongst the rough metal. While not particularly menacing, it's simple oval shape seemed to belie its potentially devastating power in this circumstance.

"How will this work?" She asked plainly, forcing down the hurricane inside of her. She'd faced Starscream, literally, so she could handle this with a straight face.

"Oh, it's simple." Acid Storm replied, sounding like she believed it. "This is a Spark Luminator. It causes sparks to shine bright enough to be seen from the outside. They're mostly used on battlefields to check for life, but before the war, they were the first way to see if a bot was carrying." Slipstream absorbed the information, coming to terms with the implications just as Nova Storm spoke them aloud.

"If you have another spark in you, this will let us see."

Almost overwhelmed, she couldn't stop a question from slipping out in a moment of weakness.

"It won't hurt?"

"Not at all, see?" Acid Storm replied, pointing the Spark Luminator at herself and clicking a button. Bright lights pulsed on the side before a barely perceptible hum filled the room. White light began to seep between the spaces in her chest armor in moments, marking her explanation as true. Slipstream almost fainted at the sight. Could it really be so devilishly simple? Her reproduction chamber felt like a crushing weight she'd only now realized. It was empty, or it wasn't. It would glow, or it wouldn't. There was no middle ground.

"Are you ready?"

_No._ She wanted to spit. How could anyone be ready? She was potentially a Carrier, a Creator, carrying a damn miracle sparkling spawned with direct help from the Allspark. Nothing within her felt capable of handling this. But her survival depended on being ready, so she lied.

"Yes."

Like a light snuffing out, the tone of the room changed. The other two femmes went silent and deathly serious, with Acid Storm approaching and Nova Storm taking a place at her side.

"Lean back." Acid Storm instructed, voice unable to hide the tiniest trace of a tremble. Slipstream nodded and did as she was bid, leaning back against the wall so that her front was completely exposed. A hand settled on her shoulder from Nova Storm, a gesture of support she was too afraid to turn away. She felt like she was on the verge of some great, terrible storm, waiting to see if it would either pass her by, or swallow her whole. The Spark Luminator tapped her chest and was activated once more, humming its gentle tune as she felt a responding tingle inside herself. Within a moment, she felt warmth in her chest, and a bright light began to seep from the creases in her armor.

"That's your spark." Acid Storm said, stating the obvious just to crack the silence. Hesitating with a now obvious shake in her arm, she audibly gulped before lowering the device to Slipstreams midsection, hovering it over the rough area of her reproduction chamber before turning it on once again.

Something new and strange immediately resonated inside her. The same tingling she'd felt in her spark now emanated from below, sending shivers all along her neural net as her processor struggled to comprehend the completely new sensation. It felt like a presence, almost akin to a bot reaching out their EM field in the most intimate of moments. It was so small, so weak and yet so _close_... Everything clicked for her like long buried programming finally coming online, a moment before it did so for the others.

Her belly lit up in a faint, almost feeble glow, the new spark within barely able to announce its presence. Slipstream was blind to the immediate joy from the other two femmes. She was carrying, and now she could _fee_l it, feel the presence of another spark connected to her own. It was as faint as the vibrations of a distant rainstorm, but she could still tell it was there. There was a sparkling within her, little more than a flicker of life, growing and developing and depending on her for its everything. The weight of the responsibility threatened to crush her.

Acid Storm removed the device and the glow faded, taking with it the presence of the sparkling. No doubt because it was too small to be perceptible without the aid. Slipstream felt its absence like a sudden loss of lift beneath her wings; startling and upsetting and enough to make her spiral with disorientation.

"You did it, Slipstream! This means it can work!" Nova Storm praised, keeping her hand on her shoulder and remaining completely oblivious to the others distress. She probably thought it nothing more than astonishment.

"We'll have to tell Starscream. He'll be thrilled." Acid Storm said, looking to the other overjoyed Seeker. More perceptive than her teammate, she caught on to her former leaders lack of external reaction. Face showing concern, she addressed her directly, breaking down the daze with a single word. "Slipstream?"

Slipstream did what she did best. She strategized, unwilling to let herself be found out as anything but a compliant follower for the sake of her own safety. With the closest she could get to a smile, she answered.

"I... I think I just need to rest... This has been quite... overwhelming."

The ruse worked flawlessly. Both femmes smiled politely and nodded in understanding, removing themselves from her space and taking their leave.

"Of course. You're probably still exhausted." Nova Storm said, taking hold of the door behind Acid Storm. "We'll let the others know while you get some rest. If you need anything, there will always be two guards outside the door."

Slipstream managed to keep the smile until the door closed, waiting for the final click before she let herself go limp on the berth with a sound of pained exhaustion. Settling on her back, she would have slipped into recharge if not for the fire of activity burning in her processor. A million thoughts were trying to organize themselves in her mind, turning the dull ache in her helm to a full blown throbbing. The racing panic threatened to consume her in that moment, painting horrible images of the many potential painful consequences awaiting her.

Before the terror could blind her, an inexplicable urge brought both hands to her midsection, fingers curling over the flat expanse of metal just above her reproduction chamber. The physical touch grounded her thoughts to reality with impressive speed. The sparkling was real, this was really happening, and her dilemma was definitely real, and she knew she needed a plan. These simple facts could be worked with, and they were her focus. Taking a deep vent, she closed her optics, letting her tired body settle further. Planning could happen only if she was calm.

Once she was confident in her state of mind, she took a survey of her situation, taking note of everything she knew. There was indeed a sparkling. Admittedly when she'd accepted Starscreams offer the full weight of what she was getting in to hadn't yet occurred to her, but here she was, expectant and under his control. But that hardly mattered. She'd escaped far worse, and that was with bots actively trying to terminate her. These former subordinates of her would probably bend their wings to ensure no harm came to her and their future messiah progeny. Which made her realize; _most_ bots would likely do the same, if only to protect the first addition to their species in millions of years. That gave her bargaining power. A useful tool if she escaped and found herself in Autobot clutches, or if the Decepticons were at all hesitant to accept her return.

For the moment, however, escape wasn't her best option. She was weak, she had no idea what a carrying bot would need, and she was under very thorough guard. Biding her time was her best option at the moment. She'd recuperate, take stock of her surroundings, and continue to work towards Starscreams favor. A few ego strokes would probably accomplish that.

So she had a semblance of a plan then; lie low and play along. It was hardly substantial, but nothing about her current situation was standard. Starscream had succeeded in the first of his goals, and would likely be coming around to brag in the near future. That was something she'd need to be rested for...

Hands still folded on her midsection to keep her grounded in her new reality, she let her processor relax, confident in her choice of action. Once her body had its energy back, she could start the show for real, playing along to every charade until she finally got a break. Then it'd be straight back to the Decepticons. Wouldn't Megatron just love the story she'd have for him...

Recharge came in a dreamless wave, her thoughts fading into blackness as she let her much earned exhaustion claim her.


	4. Crowing

Instead of waking on her own, Slipstream was rather rudely brought out of her still needed rest by a knocking on her door. Wincing, she lifted her helm just as Acid Storm entered, the other femme looking quite apologetic in response to her tired glare.

"Sorry for the interruption, but Starscream is on his way. He wanted to see you immediately."

Slipstream bit back a gulp, anger gone. Even if she'd been expecting it, she was not looking forward to dealing with an even more egotistical Starscream than usual. He was probably puffing himself up right now over his "accomplishment", as if he'd done something truly impressive. Alright, perhaps securing the Allspark and Vector Sigma and getting them to work were indeed incredible feats, but putting a sparkling in her? Any mech with a working spike could have accomplished that. She hardly considered the sparkling his at all. She was growing it, it was hers, and that was that. But of course, she would play along to his face. Not that acting was especially fun when she was still tired...

"I'll be ready." She replied, rubbing her optics online. Acid Storm left with a nod, leaving her alone and waiting a very unpleasant arrival. Unable to help herself, a hand curled almost protectively over her midsection. She wasn't deluded by mushy feelings of carrier instinct like some sappy Autobot, but she had the good sense to know Starscream presented a threat even to his vested interests. And at the moment, the vested interest within her was an asset she very much wanted safe. So they'd begin their little dance, with him as the arrogant chosen one and her as the supposedly devoted pawn, and she'd spend every waking moment looking out for her best options. It would be very tiring.

Heavy footsteps made her cringe in anticipation of the inevitable. At least he couldn't exactly sneak up on her, thanks to that impossibly stupid armor. It didn't even let him transform, a thought that horrified her. What good were wings if you were grounded? It sounded like a fate worse than death.

"Slipstream!"

She was shocked when the door slammed open and Starscream burst in without any warning, shouting her name in obvious delight. Regaining herself enough to look neutral, she sat awkwardly on the berth, unsure of whether or not she should stand or stay where she was. Starscream didn't seem to care, forcing his large frame through the doorway to be in the room with her.

"I couldn't wait any longer to see you with my own optics!" He bellowed, looking her up and down. The gaze made her want to whither on the spot. Of course he'd react this way, viewing her like an extension of some great accomplishment of his. It was harmless though, just another obstacle she'd have to face on her quest.

"There... isn't much to see." She replied lamely, finding it easier to play along if she could at least speak truthfully. And it was definitely the truth. There wasn't a single change to her exterior to mark the sparklings presence, and there wouldn't be for some time. In her faintest of memories, she thought she recalled that swelling didn't begin for two or three months, but couldn't be sure.

"Quite the contrary!" Starscream disagreed, closing in on her. Even if she knew he wasn't a threat at that moment, the lack of personal space still made her recoil inside. The way he carried himself seemed so very... off. She still let him take her hand in his, his fingers holding hers tightly as he looked into her optics. "Your whole body is positively glowing with the energy of a glorious creator! I doubt Solus Prime herself was ever so radiant!"

"Uh..."

Slipstream had no idea what to say. Starscream was clearly far more out of touch with reality than she'd realized. Comparing her to their goddess of creation, even with the circumstances? How did one reply to something like that, even while filling a role?

"Of course you're still speechless, I can hardly blame you. Carrying the first sparkling of a new age? It must be overwhelming!" He said, thankfully oblivious to any lack of enthusiasm as he mirrored what he'd said before. Starscream thought he was the only one capable of truly accomplishing his mad goals, and that at least let her hide a lot of her doubts behind the wall of his arrogance.

"But we will all come together to ensure this is a success. We as Seekers will support you, and in the end, it shall be us that welcomes the first of our new world order!" Starscream said, speaking more to the huddle of Seekers gathered outside the door than her. The crowd almost caught her glare before she managed to suppress it. Being the subject of so much attention didn't bother her so much as feeling like a spectacle, even if it was somewhat warranted. Carrying the first sparkling in an age was more than a little noteworthy.

"For now, you'll need to rest. Acid Storm will be your caretaker. Isn't that right?" He asked, his tone more of an introduction than a question. The aforementioned femme stepped into the center doorway, looking a little nervous but proud.

"Yes, Lord Starscream. I've spent enough time studying with Shockwave to understand the basics of medical care. Your sparkling will be in good hands." She promised, earning a nod of approval and an eager laugh from Starscream. Slipstream barely heard him over her revulsion to _your sparkling _being said so earnestly. As if she was barely there.

"Of course! See to it that all of Slipstreams needs are met. Anything you ask, you shall have." He said, making a grand gesture to accentuate his endless generosity. Folding his arms behind his back, he turned his back to the door, looking to Slipstream as he spoke again with far less grandeur. "Now the rest of you may return to your duties. I wish to confer with Slipstream alone."

There was a wave of confused expressions and murmurs before the order was heeded, making her wonder if this hadn't been something they were aware of. That concerned her, but she remained stoic and the door was closed, leaving the two of them alone with each other.

"Are you well? The others mentioned you had yet to recover from our little... escapade." He asked, smirk flaring at the last word. She could tell he was impossibly proud of his show. It was gross, but not as difficult to handle as deciding how honest to be. In truth, she was still far from her peak, and it would probably be a while before she was at normal functioning again. But would him knowing that help her? Perhaps if he knew a little, or just enough to think her helpless, she could benefit from some underestimation.

"I'm fine. My strength just has yet to return in full." She replied, sitting up more fully on the berth.

"Good. I'd like you to continue taking it easy for now. I want every possible care to be taken for our sparkling." He said with a nod, turning his optics to her midsection with a look so powerful it almost burned her armor. There was a great _want_ in his optics that almost unnerved her to the point of recoiling. He truly saw the barely existant life inside of her as the start of some great prophecy he was meant to fulfill, and that terrified her more in that moment than she'd been when he'd first announced his mad plan. Wanting desperately to change the subject, she looked about her surroundings, finding an honest question to break the silence.

"Are you going to keep me in this room?" She asked, trying to sound innocent and not particularly interested in the answer. It seemed perfectly logical to her for even a loyal bot to wonder such a thing. Seekers were, after all, a naturally claustrophobic lot with a desire for open air and freedom to move. He lost his smile for a moment, then brought it back with a thoughtful twist.

"For now. I wouldn't want the threat of the outside war to... cloud your judgement. Once I believe your faith is sound, I'll allow you greater freedom. Surely you understand." He said, making her worried for a moment that she'd overestimated the blinding power of his ego. Of course he was still capable of being suspicious, even if he put on a show for the others. She'd have to try much harder to mask her true feelings.

"Of course." She replied with a smile, one that she'd gotten used to putting on during rough situations in eons past. It seemed to placate him. Approaching the berth so that he was right by her side, he continued speaking with a touch of his usual flare.

"I do hope you also understand, that after you succeed in bearing the first, others will begin to see my brilliance." He said, optics looking past her to the great future in his mind. "I shall rewrite our genetic destiny, making my mark upon Cybertronian kind for all eternity, and drive us to a glorious future of flight and prosperity."

One word in particular stood out to her with worrying implications. "Flight?"

"But of course. Can't have any groundpounders dirtying my perfect gene pool." He said with a casual shrug. The meaning behind the words was quite clear to her, and for a moment it became harder to hold the smile. This wasn't just about spawning old bots for him, it was about eliminating countless others he didn't find fit. Sure, she'd always preferred the company of Seekers herself, but she didn't have anything against grounders. She certainly didn't want to _kill_ them. Lord Megatron was a grounder, and so were countless other loyal Decepticons. Primus, even Autobots didn't deserve to die purely based on their alt mode. This plan truly was unsustainable madness, doomed to end in death and extinction for all of their kind. But she couldn't let him know she knew that, so she only nodded with fake enthusiasm.

"Very... understandable!"

Her acting earned her a pleased look, and he held out a hand to lay on her shoulder.

"I did mean what I said. You look positively radiant." He praised, moving the hand closer to her helm in a sign of unexpected and unwanted affection. Swallowing down a gag, she shrugged with the only reply she could think would please him.

"How could I not?"

The moment he was gone and the door was closed, she curled her knees up and laid her head against them, venting hard to hold down some nausea. Processing what had just happened wasn't helping. His plan was even more mad than she'd first thought, and she wished that she could understand why the others were going along with it. Seekers were a naturally cliquey bunch, but even with the Allsparks involvement they seemed to have lost all contact with reason. Were they that desperate for someone new to follow? Sure the Decepticons often undervalued its flying members, but she was there for the cause, not special treatment. It had never occurred to her that she might be alone in that belief...

But could they really not see the flaws in his logic? Primus, one bot couldn't spawn a new species. Even with no scientific training, she knew that was impossible. And killing off any bot that couldn't fly? That was beyond madness, it was a hatred she wanted nothing to do with.

Her only comfort was that it was all academic at this point. Her plans hadn't changed, they were just more urgent than before. All she had to do was keep up her act with as much gusto as she could manage, and keep herself in peak condition to prepare for her escape. Starscream could not be allowed to have this sparkling. It was _hers_, as well as her ticket to safety. But she didn't really want to think about any of the further implications of carrying. Focusing on everything else was far more palatable, and easier to hazard a guess on. The sparkling was a tiny flicker of life with a body so small the naked optic could barely perceive it; if her biology lessons had taught her accurately. The silo, however, was real and something she could see and interact with.

Plans of escape were made a little easier by her relative familiarity with the site. While she hardly had it memorized, she had a decent enough starting knowledge to make her life easier. The real key would be learning guard rotations. Once she had free range and knew who would be where, she needed only make a run for the exit. It would take some time though. Starscream certainly wouldn't trust her overnight, and neither would the others. Of course, the war would keep going outside of their little bunker, likely without much progress. Did anyone but the Seekers even know Starscream had the Allspark? That was something she'd need to know, though she was uncertain what difference it made. If they didn't know, they'd keep battling without progress and it wouldn't affect them. If they did know, the bunker was hardly a place easily found. No, it was quite likely not much would happen while she was down here, much to her comfort.

Of course, that didn't mean she had any intention of lazing about. She only had about a year before she'd, sweet Primus she didn't even like to think the words, _give birth._ Not to mention every day she was absent certainly didn't look good to her superiors. By standard Decepticon logic, she'd be figured for dead or a traitor, and likely the latter the way things were going. Hopefully showing up expecting could smooth over any tensions with Lord Megatron.

Feeling more relaxed, she let herself lie down on her side, taking a moment to stretch out her wings to get comfortable. Sleeping so much would have once driven her mad, but for now it was a good way to pass the time and prepare. Hopefully when she awoke, her body would be back to normal. And perhaps if she was lucky, she could have something to keep her occupied until she earned greater freedom. Boredom would hardly be good for her health, after all. Laying her helm on the cool berth, she allowed herself to relax, determined but tired as she drifted off into recharge.


	5. Curious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've always liked the idea that Cybertronians need to eat ores and minerals in addition to energon to survive, as while the latter provides energy, the former gives the raw materials needed to heal and grow. This is especially the case for bots who are carrying, as the sparkling needs a lot to grow healthy. 
> 
> A Molder is a device that can have raw ingredients added and produce something far more pure and tasty than just eating it as it comes out of the earth. Think cooking food as opposed to eating it as it straight from nature. Before the war they also had junk food, which was the product of really low quality materials being over processed to taste delicious, but that's not exactly an issue these days. A well balanced bot diet varies, but generally involves a wide array of metals and crystals and minerals on a weekly basis. There will be lots of this in the coming chapters, so be prepared for nerdy biology headcannons.

A dream without sight was the last thing Slipstream remembered before waking up. There was a feeling of... something beside her, curling around her body like it was seeking protection. She would have offered it safety if she could have, but it was as elusive as it was intangible, brushing up against her mind and then retreating before she could take hold and investigate. It was like trying to grab a cloud in flight. Frustration didn't happen though, as some part of her knew there was no real need for urgency. It wasn't going anywhere, even as her body began to pull itself from sleep once it had finally had its fill of resting.

Footsteps against concrete brought her to wakefulness with a sigh. Lifting her helm, she turned to see Acid Storm at the desk, laying out a tray and meeting her optics with a smile.

"Perfect timing, I've brought some food and fuel to wash it down." She explained, gesturing to the tray. A small cube of energon and several small mineral blocks, the custom form of nutritional deployment for wartime, rested on its flat surface. Making a bit of an uncertain face, she got up and approached.

"I ate rather recently." She said politely, looking at the blocks. The sight of the off gray mineral made her tank give a rumble, surprising her with how she'd managed not to feel it before. The particular hunger for solid resources over fuel had never come upon her so suddenly, or so quickly after her last meal. Correcting herself with a cough, she tried to brush off her error. "I'm certainly hungry enough for it though."

"You'll need supplemental materials almost daily while growing a sparkling. I've gathered some Feldspar to get you started while we locate the more specific minerals. This planet has a very different chemical composition from Cybertron." Acid Storm explained, handing her one of the half palm sized blocks. Slipstream held the alien mineral up for inspection, her face visibly reacting with something far less than enthusiasm.

"_This_ is Feldspar?" She asked, turning it over in the light. It was an alien pinkish as opposed to the simple white served as on Cybertron, or even the slightly off color look it usually had in standard ration bars.

"It's everywhere on Earth in that form. That piece is the highest concentration of Aluminum we could find, with traces of Barium and other important minerals. We don't have a Molder, so we can't exactly separate the components or refine it to be tastier. Sorry..." Acid Storm said, fading off for the apology. Slipstream figured it was parr for the course considering her luck. Or course they would have grabbed Vector fragging Sigma but left behind something as simple as a Molder. She'd be getting all her minerals the old fashioned way then, like an extinct Predacon tearing them directly from the stone. No purifying, no mixing, and certainly no reconfiguring to a more palatable formula. But a part of her still wanted to eat the block in her hand, and she knew why.

"I understand. Even I know how important the Aluminum is." She said, thinking back to basic Seeker biology. Though their bodies were made of an incredibly complex melding of metals no process in nature could replicate, the base components were simple enough, and included a great deal of Aluminum to give them their strong but light frames. Going without it during such a critical period of development would cripple her sparkling before birth.

"It's one of the crucial building blocks for a Seekerlet. They'll need a lot to grow a lightweight frame." Acid Storm confirmed, looking at her a little expectantly. The growling in her tanks finished up the urge for her. As unhappy as she was about it, her body needed this inside of her, and it wasn't going to be satisfied until it had what it needed. Sighing, she took her first bite, crunching through the weak material to get a solid mouthful. A gritty texture was the first thing she noticed, as well as a salty but rather weak taste that lacked any of the redeeming savory flavor usually found in Decepticon ration Feldspar. It was hardly purge worthy, but she wasn't looking forward to eating her whole meal. A mouthful of tiny bits remained even after she swallowed, sticking to her dentae and making her cringe as she went for the cube to wash it down.

"We'll try to make it taste better, if we can." Acid Storm promised as she cleaned out her mouth with a sip. Sighing, Slipstream reassured her with honesty.

"It's fine. I've had worse."

Taking another drink of energon to prepare herself for more, it occurred to her that the present moment was perfect for trying to get a little leverage.

"Acid Storm, could you do something for me?"

Her caretaker perked up a bit, eager to make up for the sub par meal. "Anything I can."

"Do we have any data pads, preferably with live feeds? I'd like something to occupy my time in here."

"Oh, I have just the thing! I snagged a few with medical files on them when we were still on the Nemesis. You could read up on what I have about sparkling development." Acid Storm replied with enthusiasm, completely oblivious or uncaring about the candid admission to theft she'd just made. Expression becoming a little more uncertain, she continued with audible halts of hesitation, like she was working out what to say. "I'm not sure about live feeds. I'll have to ask Starscream what's... appropriate. Hold on, I'll be right back!"

In a flash, she was off and out the door, leaving Slipstream alone with a tray of sub par food.

"Uh, alright." She said to no one, uncertain as to whether she'd actually get anything resembling what she wanted. In an ideal world, she'd get access to earth media and be able to use the eight billion or so pairs of eyes on the planet to try and keep track of the war. Even if the human perspective was woefully primitive and the Autobots and Decepticons were likely at a stand still, any bit of information would be helpful in her present situation. But it seemed perfectly in character that Acid Storm would immediately focus on sharing medical knowledge instead. The femme had always been scientifically interested, even earning her name from the ingenious experiment she'd cooked up to turn regular clouds into acid bearing weapons for devastating corrosive rain. At the very least, Slipstream herself would probably find learning about carrying to be interesting. Though she couldn't help but wonder why Shockwave would have information about it...

Suppressing the terrible thoughts that could potentially come from thinking about it too deeply, she took the seat by the desk and continued her meal, driven more by a primal urge than any actual hunger for the taste. Her body needed what the rations had, or rather, the body growing within her needed it. It was a strange and not at all pleasant thought. What else would it be making her eat? This Feldspar split up in her mouth like sand at every bite, and it was just the first of many alien ores she'd be forced to consume raw. Primus, what she wouldn't have given for a good Molder and Cybertronian quality minerals. Her favorite had always been Cinnabar in crystalline form, especially when it had been processed into those perfect little bite size pieces... Sweet with just a hint of a spicy kick.

But how long had it been since she'd had that? Low level Decepticons didn't get access to the good stuff, especially if they weren't strong enough to take it or subtle enough to steal it. On the Nemesis only their basics were provided for, and even that had no guarantee of not being stolen if you couldn't defend yourself. Any bot with special needs or an exploitable weakness was likely to go hungry, especially the grunts who actually did all the mining and foraging. Which made her wonder, how would things go for her? Would carrying actually give her any kind of special status? The desperate need for new members of their species didn't mesh well with the Decepticon way of life, making her wonder, for the most fleeting of moments, what Autobots would do with a carrying femme.

The door opening helped cleave the heretical thought from her mind. Acid Storm entered with a data pad in hand, looking quite pleased with herself.

"So I was able to merge all the files I had onto one data pad, it should keep you busy for some time." She explained, handing it over with a proud grin. Slipstream took it and flipped through the index, surprised by the impressive volume of content there was on the subject. She'd expected maybe a few pages at best, but it looked like there was an entire volume or more of pieced together sources on the subject of carrying. It was a pleasant surprise.

"Starscream has also granted you permission to use the human data nets, with some restrictions. They're already programmed into the pad."

Slipstream had to bite back a curse. It was expected, but still disappointing. Of course Starscream was smart enough to keep her in the dark on what she really needed, even while offering her information on what he likely thought she should be focusing on. It would at least make her days a little more bearable.

"Thank you, Acid Storm. This is definitely useful."

The green femme puffed herself up in pride, taking the tray and empty cube that Slipstream had finished off and showing herself to the door.

"I'll have to get back to work for now. But let me know if you've read some when I come back with your next meal. I'd love to discuss some of it with you."

Slipstream smiled without having to fake it for the first time since her arrival, nodding in thanks and agreement as she was left alone at the desk. Tapping through the data pads index, she looked for categories that might answer her more pressing questions, deciding to start at the beggining. She found the data to be from an old savaged medical text, likely a learning material for medics in training, and thus some of the vocabulary beyond her. However, she was immediately able to get the gist of what she was looking for.

Helpful diagrams and exquisitely detailed descriptions of the first few days of life painted a clear picture for her. A sparkling started out as little more than a rudimentary series of neural net wires centered around a bundle of circuits that would become a processor, all within hours of conception. The spark was latched onto hers, and while it had all the complexity of an adults, it was frail and new enough to be barely noticeable despite its proximity. The two halves were connected through her, thanks in part to a complex fiber wire setup in the reproduction chamber that would become the umbilical fiber in later months.

She paused and looked down at herself, wishing desperately for some kind of visual cue that any of this was real. Without seeing, even knowing the facts didn't help cement her believing. Deciding to read on, she looked for particulars about Seeker development, as the sparkling would certainly be one. The critical difference, she learned, was wing development. In the coming days as the critical components took shape, so would the wings. That they were so key hardly surprised her. Flight was a massive part of her life, branded into the simplest levels of her coding. She could remember her first attempt, before she'd even had an alt mode, using her wings for a glide as she lept from the window as a sparkling... It had ended alright, thanks to a helpful passerby with quick reflexes and a good breeze to keep her going. The thought of having to teach how to fly briefly crossed her mind.

Keeping her focus on Seeker biology, she found a passage on the impact she could expect on her own body. While all femmes were built to carry, the compact frames required for flight struggled to find the room for a sparkling, resulting in far more swelling than those with more roomy grounder builds. Groaning at the thought, she tried to banish the sudden image of her slim waistline being overtaken by a sparkling, relieved only by the fact that transformation and flight would still be possible even at full term.

A more relieving note spoke of how femmes bonded with their sparklings even before they were born. As early as three or four months in, a sparkling was big and strong enough to be felt physically, their kicks and wiggles bringing great joy to their carriers. But even sooner than that, the spark bond allowed for a deeper connection to be formed. Carriers reported feeling emotions separate from their own almost immediately after conception. Most interesting, she noted, was how the earliest sensations they described came in the form of strange dreams...

Her dream was little more than a blur now, but she definitely remembered the feeling of an other consciousness next to her own. It had been so similiar to the feeling she'd gotten when the Spark Luminator had been used. Perhaps that had been the sparkling, reaching out to her while she was in recharge and her mind was more approachable. She didn't like how vulnerable that made her feel. In fact, all of this was just a bit too much.

Tapping into the permitted streams of human networks, it became clear to her that research could wait. She certainly had plenty of time. Focusing on something purely for entertainment would probably let her relax and pass the many hours of seclusion more effectively. Returning to the berth to lie down, she typed out a few topics that interested her and let the device sort out the relevant data. It was time to learn a little bit more about this alien planet.


	6. Connection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thundercracker is a sweet dum dum.

Slipstream became keenly aware of a few things in the two weeks she spent holed up in her prison-in-everything-but-name. First was that human media had a pleasantly surprising breadth of content, enough to keep one entertained for hours at a time if you were fine with the primitive nature of the material. Second was that a Seeker truly wasn't meant to go so long without flying, if the ache in her wings was anything to go by. And third was that earth had the most disgusting and unappetizing minerals she'd ever tasted.

Flipping through another entertainment broadcast she had only watched earlier out of boredom, she decided she was done waiting. Playing the part of the obedient prisoner eager to serve and asking for nothing wasn't going to get her anywhere. She needed out of the room, both for the sake of her own sanity and to have any hope of escape. The real desperation just to move would hopefully be good fuel for a convincing performance. At the very least, she assured herself, time wasn't too much of a precious commodity. Starscreams plan was idiotic and doomed to failure, but she was the only one presently facing any consequences. It was more a waste of the Allspark than anything else.

Stretching out her legs on the berth and giving her wings a good roll, she put an experimental hand to her midsection. There was no change. It was to be expected, but she still often found herself checking, consistently touching the spot she expected a swell to one day show itself. The feelings in her dreams had been getting stronger, but had yet to reach a point where she could truly decipher them, or maintain them long enough to respond. And she'd had nothing while she was awake. It was nice not to have any interruption, but a part of her had been hoping for something like the texts described so she could at least gain a better understanding of the being she'd been growing. Primus knew it was asking a lot of her.

Just thinking about it drew her attention back to the empty tray on the table from her finished meal, and she shuddered. The molybdenum she'd consumed had left a bitter aftertaste that refused to leave her even now, and she'd only been able to finish thanks to the hunger like need inside of her for the raw materials. She knew it wasn't her need, and that alone was weird. There was something living it in her and making demands strong enough she could feel it, and at the moment that was all the concrete evidence she had it was there. Something far more pleasant, like a gentle flutter through their bond, would have been far more palatable.

Her hand dropped to her side as the door clicked open, without a knock as per usual. Even if she had nothing to hide, the lack of privacy was beggining to chafe...

All thoughts of annoyance dropped when Thundercracker poked his helm inside. Recognizing an opportunity, she dropped into the best pleasant act she could muster, becoming the picture of welcoming as the mech stepped inside. Typically the femmes were the only ones who came into her room, so the chance to have the far more easily manipulated Thundercracker was something she intended to jump on.

"Sorry! Acid Storm and Nova Storm were busy so they sent me to uh, check on you and make sure everything is okay." He said, visibly uncomfortable with being there. Looking to the tray in an effort to avoid optic contact, he quickly babbled out and addendum. "Oh! I can just clean that up and get out of your way..."

"Thundercracker." She said after clearing her vents, sitting up on the berth to be more conversational. Flinching like he'd been struck, the mech stood to attention with clear uncertainty, still not making optic contact.

"Uh, yes Slipstream? Is there anything I can do?"

"I was hoping you could guide me on a walk around the silo. Just to stretch my legs." She asked, keeping the most friendly smile she could. Being used to her usual authoritative self, the poor seeker looked absolutely mystified at what to do.

"Uhhhh... I don't know..."

"Just for a quick but if excercise. Very important for the sparkling." She added, and for the first time he looked to her midsection with a gulp. The brief action made her wonder if he was afraid of her as she was, which she tucked away for further use. The crushing weight of his uncertainty and her acting seemed to do him in.

"Okay... but... just around the corner, alright?"

"Of course." She agreed, sounding as gracious as she could. Standing from the berth, she followed him out the door, trying to hold back her giddiness at finally being out of the prison cell she'd been stuck in. A lack of guards surprised her, and she was genuinely curious when she asked for an explanation. "Oh, where is everyone?"

"Starscream wanted more of us working to raid more supplies. The Decepticons know we're not with them anymore, but they don't have enough air power to keep up, so it's easy to grab what we need. Yay for us!" Thundercracker explained, adding the end with as much enthusiasm as a nervous voice could have. Slipstream noted it all with a polite smile, wishing desperately she knew where in the bunker she was and how many of the other Seekers were still around. If she had been confident she could find her way out quickly and without resistance, she'd have made her run for the door right there. But a failed escape attempt would ruin everything. Starscream certainly wasn't above chaining her to a berth if he was certain she would try and escape. No, it was best to bide her time and ensure the one chance she had was a certain success.

"I thought we had plenty of supplies, why grab more?" She asked, hating how slowly he walked down the hall. Every inch was being committed to her memory, but it would take an eternity to get anything resembling a real map at this pace. Knowing Thundercracker, it was impossible to say if he was genuinely trying to keep her exposure limited, or if he was just too nervous to go any faster.

"Oh, we do! Have plenty, I mean. But Starscream wants us stocked for the long term. He said we'll have a lot more mouths to feed soon enough."

Slipstream almost laughed at the arrogance. They had three femmes, and he'd said himself they weren't trying for more until they were certain the sparkling she carried to term was what he was looking for. He'd hardly have a new race within the millennia. She kept her optics scanning the entirety of the short walk to the end of the first hallway, wondering how she'd ever navigated this bunker before. It all looked different now, and she wasn't sure if that was due to her own experience or any changes that had been made while she'd been locked away.

"Of course. Can we go this way?" She said, looking to the left of the forked path before them. Thundercracker looked behind them with uncertainty, wringing his hands before looking back to her. She smiled as encouragingly as she could, and it seemed to win him over.

"Well, it does loop back to your room so... Sure."

They continued on, and her optics continued to eat up the surroundings. Most of it was unremarkable and blended together, but Seekers were naturals at mapping out their terrain. If she came out of her room and took a left, there was a possibility she'd just end up back where she started, so that didn't seem a good option. Unless there was another route ahead she didn't know about.

A second split in the path confirmed her suspicions, and she realized with unimaginable joy that she recognized where it led. The main chamber was down that way, a bit of a ways off, and from there a good distance more would take one to the exit. She was at the very deepest core of the bunker, so it would be a dangerous long flight, but she knew where she was. And she'd pass right by the Allspark on her way out... Oh, if she could have confirmed she'd meet no resistance, she would have made her attempt right then. Bringing the Allspark to Megatron would certainly ensure she was welcomed back with open arms. But her course was finally set. She only needed an opportunity to jump on it. Having a plan was so invigorating she didn't even care when Thundercracker guided her back to the room, opening the door ahead of her and standing to the side.

"Well, I uh, hope you feel better."

"I definitely do, Thundercracker. Thank you very much." She said with a far more genuine smile than before. He tried to give her one in return, but faltered and dropped his optics, letting her walk past and closing the door behind her. To say she was elated was an understatement. She had the first part of her freedom down, and she needed only to get a little more information before she'd have enough to make a run for it. With the Allspark in hand, she'd be welcomed back into the Decepticons, and certain to be promoted as well. The sparkling would add a new soldier to their future forces, if war was even still needed after Megatron had the power to reshape Cybertron. Everything would finally come together in her favor.

The happiness in her spark seemed to swell, fluttering about like a bird before she realized the feeling was almost like an echo of emotions. Puzzled, she put a hand to her chest. The sensation of analysis was mirrored back at her, and she realized with a bit of a start that the emotions coming back were not her own.

They were the sparklings. It was parroting her emotions.

The realization brought a light laugh from her lips, and she was rewarded with a mirrored burst of joy. How fitting that she finally establish a connection now...

"We certainly have a lot to celebrate." She whispered, not too concerned over whether or not it could hear. "You and I will be out of here in no time."

Laying on the berth, she imagined what the future would bring, positive for the first time. With the power of the Allspark, they could restore Cybertron, even without being able to immediately repopulate. This first sparkling would go a long way to getting their numbers back, and she'd be the one to start it all. Of course there'd be very little touchy feely aspects to her parenting style, but she'd get it done. Flying, fighting, all the basics would be something she could teach on her own. The less pleasant aspects could be handled by some low level drones...

A flutter through the bond made her laugh again, as if she'd been tickled. Now she could certainly see the appeal the texts had described. Perhaps eating the earth minerals wouldn't be so bad now that she had some experience with the little one it would all go to helping. Or at least it would be more bearable. None of the other Seekers needed to know this, of course. She'd be keeping every last bit of information to herself for as long as possible, and act surprised whenever it was discovered. After all, how hard was it to believe a femme carrying for the first time wouldn't know what was going on with her body? Starscream probably barely knew how carrying worked. He'd certainly never know sirehood, she was certain of that. Not that it would matter. She herself was proof that one's parentage was utterly without consequence.

Now she just needed to keep her optics open for another opportunity to take a little walk, ideally while the other Seekers were on their usual routes. Once she had a concrete schedule, she'd make her move. To think, with one well planned movement, she could effectively end the war...


	7. Courage

As she purged the very last traces of her meal into the bucket on the floor, Slipstream came to another minor but hard to ignore realization.

Earth ores tasted even worse on the way out.

Shuddering and fighting down more dry heaves, she sat back on her heels, holding her aching helm as she took in slow vents to try and calm her spinning tanks. The stale air of the bunker did little to soothe her miserable condition. Pushing the bucket away, she allowed herself to lie down on the cold stone floor, letting the chill dampen the pain of her aches and ground her to the spot. On a now thoughtless reflex, she put her hand to the barely perceptible swell on her midsection, a thousand feelings flying through her spark at once. In the nearly two months that had passed since its creation, the sparkling had made her life the Pit. She'd been growing more ill just thanks to her bodies efforts to grow another life, and her environment had done little to help.

She hadn't had a single excursion outside of her room since the brief walk with Thundercracker, meaning he'd likely let it slip and she'd been put on lockdown without being told. Acid Storm and Nova Storm had been keeping up their visits, but any attempt to request even a moment of freedom was quickly and almost uncharacteristically denied. Clearly Starscream had laid down a firm law. Meaning her chances for escape were, at the moment, looking quite bleak.

Another surge of nausea came up at the hopelessness, and it was all she could do to crawl to the bucket for a few more heaves of fuel she didn't know she had. Keeping anything down had become a challenge as of late. Acid Storm had said something about her reconfigured systems struggling and her tanks becoming incredibly sensitive to their contents as a result, but she had a feeling the other femme was reaching the limits of her knowledge. Even the texts she had on the subjects were of little help. Her grasp of biology was as limited as could be, and much of the explanations for more specific phenomenon were in advanced jargon without translation.

Again, she felt the swell, reaching out with her spark to the connection that had become far more present and easy to access as time had passed. A timid echo fluttered back, intimidated as it always was by her run ins with sickness. She tried to be reassuring as she always was. The sparkling had been her only true companion through any of this, despite its simplicity, and she'd found herself growing to appreciate its company during the longer and harder days. It was quite possible she'd even be willing to raise it herself after it was born if fate permitted, having come to see it as a source of pleasant times. She didn't blame it for her condition. Starscream was to blame, and she had more than enough hate to direct his way and more to add with every passing day.

The door opened without a knock, as it always did, and she only mamaged to halfway push herself off the ground before green filled her optics.

"I'm sorry, the guards heard you getting sick and sent for me." Acid Storm said, helping her up the rest of the way. Slipstream realized only then that she was shaking. Sitting down with an arm to keep her up, she processed what the other femme had said and cringed. Excellent, her vomiting had an audience.

"Still not able to keep anything down?" She asked, taking out a scanner and setting it off. Feeling the tingle of a deep body scan, Slipstream had to try not to let out her frustration, though she was far beyond tired of Acid Storm experimenting and failing to keep her healthy. Mirroring her with innocent simplicity, the sparkling directed a tiny burst of anger at the other Seeker to match hers, not understanding but wanting to be in agreement. It actually made the moment a little better.

"No. I purge it up, and it tastes even worse. My brain module feels like it's going to split and I barely have the energy to get on the berth." She said, moving a hand to her temple ridges and massaging the ache. It felt like a scraplet was inside her helm and trying to eat its way out.

"I'll take note of the results. If I can just zero in on a formula that won't irritate your tanks, you should feel a lot better." Acid Storm said, typing some of the scan results into a data pad. "The sparkling is still growing, so you're getting enough to ensure their development. Obviously it'd be better if you weren't sick though..."

"Indeed it would be. I'd feel much better if I could get some air under my wings." She replied, unable to help adding a bit of an edge to her voice.

"Flying just isn't an option." Acid Storm replied, shutting it down just as quickly as she always did. For once however, the conversation didn't end there, and she continued with a far more level tone. "You will get to come out today, however. Starscream wants us all to gather in the main hanger."

"What for?" Slipstream asked, genuinely surprised by the turn of events. Considering the last thing she'd done with Starscream in the hanger, she wasn't exactly as eager to leave as she should have been, but it wasn't like he could impregnate her twice. Acid Storm offered a servo to lift her onto the berth, her lack of concern somehow calming.

"Just an update on progress, but I want to make sure you're healthy enough to leave. I'm going to run some tests first."

So he wanted to brag. That was typical, if something to not look forward to. But to be out and get a look at his full forces, that'd be something useful. Making a run while in the middle of everything would hardly be a good idea, but if she played along and put on a good show for his troops, perhaps he'd lessen her restrictions. At least, she hoped so. The last vestiges of her patience were draining from the time she'd spent here, and she was aching to return to some level of normalcy. Even if little had happened in the war, it was quite likely that her prolonged absence would be used against her when she tried to return. Hopefully having the Allspark in servo and the first of the sparklings to rebuild would put things in her favor.

"Of course. What do you need?" She asked, her mood improved a bit by the prospect of a change in pace regardless of the unpleasant baggage it came with.

"Just scans. I've developed several new systems to get the data I want. Mostly I need to see if they're as strong as they should be." Acid Storm replied, tapping a few buttons on the scanner in her arm. It reacted quickly, sending out a beam that felt more like heat than the others. Hoping she knew what she was doing, Slipstream allowed access to her midsection, trying to ignore a surge of protectiveness the uncertainty was making her feel. A stream of data she couldn't comprehend flew across the holo, but Acid Storm seamed pleased with it.

"It's incredibly faint, but I'm definitely getting the biometrics of a Seeker. Starscream will certainly be pleased to hear that." She said with a smile that almost looked relieved.

"Was there any chance it could have been something else?" Slipstream asked, intrigued to know her sparkling would fly even if she wasn't at all surprised. Her entire family line was nothing but flyers, and it was impossible for her to imagine Starscream wasn't the same.

"A small one. Sometimes the coding just doesn't happen the way it needs to and you get a grounder. But we don't have to think about that..."

"Does it have wings?" She asked, ignoring the dark implications of the other femmes words. Considering that Starscream saw no place for grounders in the future, it was impossible to say what horrors may have awaited her if the results had been different. Acid Storm seemed equally happy for the subject change, and answered quickly.

"Sort of, right now it's mostly just additional mass where wings _will_ be. The complex receptors will start to develop soon, and so will the other flight systems like thrusters and their internal gyroscope. They'll definitely be quite a jet."

"Interesting." Slipstream mused, wishing she could put a hand to the swell. She'd have a flier, like herself, and they were already starting to take shape. Perhaps she'd teach them to fly the old fashioned way; carrying them in the cockpit and giving them a taste for the sky before letting them try it out on their own. Most creators had preferred the safety of small ledges, but she'd always liked the idea of letting them feel real air under their wings. It was one of the few things her creators had done right.

A ping in Acid Storms comm made the other femme flinch, and she answered publicly.

"Yes, Lord Starscream? I'm with Slipstream."

Starscreams voice played for them both, his raspy tone energetic and eager.

_"Acid Storm, have you finished the tests then?"_

"Yes, I've run them as requested. The sparkling is a healthy jet." She replied, sounding a little more tense than would be expected for a bot delivering good news.

"_Excellent! Come to the hanger, and we shall announce the glorious news!"_

At the painfully loud demand, Acid Storm let out a vent, putting away her scanner and gesturing for the door. She looked like a bot under pressure, and it occurred to Slipstream that being the only Seeker with scientific training, she probably was. "We'd better get going. He won't want to wait."

They left in a bit of a hurry, with Slipstream finding the chance to walk about once more being an excellent distraction from her sickly feelings. The main hanger wasn't deep into the bunker, and only a short flight would take her straight to freedom. But considering all hands would be on deck, the risk of capture was simply too great to make escape an option.

For the first time since her rather unfortunate arrival, she found herself looking upon Vector Sigma, the Allspark, and all the Seekers who had defected to join Starscreams cause. It was not a pleasant sight, but she swallowed her fear and entered with purpose. All optics were immediately upon her.

"Slipstream! How fortunate that you are well enough to join us!" Starscream crowed, standing betwixt his two great thefts. His energy was possibly bombastic as he approached, keeping himself on the raised platform above them all so as to look down on the group. Parting for her, the Seekers gave her ample room to stand before Starscream alone, with Acid Storm taking a hesitant place beside her.

"Acid Storm, would you care to announce what you have found?" Starscream asked, making the green femme give a little jump. The nervousness was starting to rub off on Slipstream, who could no longer just write it off as nerves. She'd been told this was just to make an announcement, but what reason did she have to believe them? Of course, if it had been a lie, what could it possibly be covering for? If she was already sparked with the desired jet type, what more was there to be done, besides awaiting its arrival?

"The sparkling is a flyer, and they are healthy." Acid Storm announced to a very positive reception, the gathered Seekers gasping and letting out excited whispers. Nova Storm met her optics with a smile, and she quickly looked away as Starscream began speaking.

"You see? Who but I would have given you such a miracle!? The first of our new order is growing strong, as the old continues to fight and die in its pointless war!" He declared, calling attention to the fight they'd all left behind. Slipstream couldn't imagine how they forgot their loyalty so completely, leaving behind the cause they'd lost friends for. She couldn't imagine the Decepticons would be merciful when it all came crumbling down.

Starscream shifted his tone dramatically, looking over each of them in a sweep. "But I've heard your doubts. The natural pace of our reproduction is slow; too slow for a vision as glorious as mine, as I've come to realize. But fear not! With my boundless genius, I have found a solution!"

Her spark twisted in horror.

"Utilizing the power of the Allspark and Vector Sigma, we shall take control over creation! We shall turn months into moments, and have a new super soldier constructed before our very optics!"

Another excited sound went through the group, and Slipstream found herself separated from it all when time froze. He was going to attempt something even more monstrous and terrifying than she'd ever thought him capable of, even knowing everything he had planned. It wasn't enough to have her carry, he was going to experiment, going to force her body and her sparkling through unimaginable impossibilities just because his ego couldn't be bothered to wait. This was worse than the moment that had started it all. There was no playing along with it this time, no claiming she even had the faintest hint of a choice. At best, this could kill her and the sparkling. At worst... She didn't even want to imagine what Vector Sigma was capable of rewiring a cybertronian into being.

"You won't be hurt. The sparkling will be separated from your body and remade as an adult within the room. It may not be... pretty, but it will work." Acid Storm whispered to her, bringing her back to the present. There was nothing convincing about her words. Her sparkling would be torn from her body and mutilated to suit his sires twisted whims, and not even the bot in charge of the operation believed it would succeed. This was madness beyond madness.

A gap in the corner of her optic got her brain module working back to survival mode. As Acid Storm took her place at Vector Sigma, and Starscream continued his speech, she realized she was open behind and on either side. The space she'd been given out of fear or respect left her out of any bots reach. Not only that, but with every Seeker presently gathered in the room, she had no chance of encountering a surprise guard on the path to the bunker entrance. A right, two lefts, and a right again would put her right where she needed to be, and the tunnels were broad enough for flight. It was impossibly risky. She was outnumbered, she wasn't in her best shape, and she hadn't flown in almost two months.

An echo in her spark sent her fear right back to her, this time with an innocent confusion that made her ache with sympathy. The sparkling was frightened with her, and without any understanding of why. A kind of almost fiery courage rose up within her to meet the terror. This sparkling was _hers_, not his, and she'd be damned if she let some arrogant lunatic with a messiah complex take them from her. She had only a single chance, but it was all she would need. Steeling herself, she met Starscreams gaze as he held out a hand to invite her forth, terrified but unflinching.

"Slipstream, come forward, and embrace the next step for our progeny!"

On the spot, she turned and transformed in a single motion, putting her thrusters on full force as she made her escape.


	8. Cut Off

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omfg why is this chapter so long I wrote it in like a day.
> 
> The events of Parley mesh with this episode, minus Bludgeon entirely and past here there will be minimal crossover with canon.

Everything behind her melted down into utter chaos. There was a cacophony of shouts followed by the clicks of transformation, and Slipstream registered the first bolts of blaster fire around her moments before she was barreling down the hall. Even if the quarters were tight and her wings had been unused for almost two months, she tore through the bunker with enough speed to shake the foundation. She could hear the others thrusters firing at full force, and knew she was being followed by every capable Seeker there. Only Starscream, stuck in his almighty armor, was left behind.

There was little room in her brain module for panic as she took the first turn, her wings nearly clipping the walls and the fire behind her ceasing until her pursuers made the same turn. Heat from their blasters was all around her, destabilizing her flight path, but she was far too erratic of a target to hit. It was likely they weren't even trying to hit her body. If they wanted her as unharmed as possible, they were probably going for her tail and wings. She felt the burn of a well placed shot along her back just before she took the second turn.

Despite her clear helm, her spark was pounding at the chase. She'd been planning for this moment for so long, and yet to have it real now was almost too much. Giving her thrusters everything they had, she rounded the final turn, the echo of the bunker making it impossible to tell if her pursuers were close. Were they far behind, or close enough to snatch her right out of the air? Every moment brought the terrifying chance of finding out.

A change in the pressure beneath her wings gave her the first real taste of hope she'd had in so long. It was fresh air. She was so terribly close. Firing her thrusters to the point of danger, she gave everything she had to getting to freedom, ignoring the pain of another shot to blast into the bunkers entrance. Sunshine poured in from above, inviting her out. Turning her nose upwards, she gunned it for the blinding light of the outside world, not even noticing the cease of the blaster fire until she slipped her frame between the doors and entered the open sky.

For the briefest of moments, her spark soared in joy. She was finally out.

Brilliant blue stretched out for infinity in every direction, threatening to throw her off balance until her internal gyroscope adjusted and she took off properly. In that moment, the logical part of her mind knew she was free. She'd been Seeker captain for a reason, and as the fastest of the group, no one could beat her once she was in the open air. But instinct drove her to keep her relentless place, flying away from the sun so that she would see the shadows of her pursuers if they caught up. Clouds embraced her in the high heavens with their cold cover, and she dissapeared into them.

It felt like hours before she finally relented to the ache of her relentless pace, but the change in the suns position told her it could have been no more than one. Midday was beggining to gather around her, and she finally gained enough control of herself to recognize the need for land. While the thought of capture was still very much a threat, she knew from experience she was alone for the moment, and the thick forest below offered ample cover for a brief rest. Dipping downwards, she found a clearing amongst the trees and dropped inside, letting her overheated thrusters set her down as low as possible before she resumed her bipedal mode.

The first thing she did was collapse onto her hands and knees, haggard ventilations sending her chest heaving as the rush faded and she was left in an aching, exhausted body. Shaking, she collapsed onto her side, too weak to even hold herself up. The soft, cold forest floor welcomed her as the trees swayed overhead, high sunlight warming the world just as she cleared her helm enough to look around and realize just what had happened.

She'd made it.

She had to repeat it to herself, because she couldn't believe it. Despite all the odds, despite her condition, despite how long it had taken, she'd escaped. The open sky was hers once again, and she was free to go where she pleased.

But where, exactly, was that?

Checking her now unblocked communication system, she found the entirety of Decepticon communication and locators was still available to her. So she hadn't been kicked out of the system. The Nemesis was exactly where it had been where she had left, but the main shuttle was parked... At the location of the Ark? Thoughts immediately turning to battle, she reconsidered when she noticed that chatter was far too low to be coordinating attacks. If the Decepticons were currently interacting with the Autobots, it wasn't in battle. And that left few options. It only really left one, actually.

A truce. They were attempting peace talks.

She wasn't sure whether this played to her favor or not. Both sides needed to know Starscream intended genocide on anything without wings, and where he was presently located, but would either listen to her while the other was present? The Autobots certainly didn't like her, and the Decepticons thought her dead or a traitor. Getting an audience would be difficult.

A wave of exhaustion helped her figure things out very quickly. She was in no shape to be making any more long term plans. Without access to energon and a medic, things would very quidkly go south for her. Action was the only thing that would save her. Considering her desire to rejoin her former comrades, her best course of action seemed to be going to them first, and the site of the shuttle was likely where she would find every bot of importance.

Checking her map, she groaned at the distance. It wasn't terribly far for a rested jet, but in her current shape it would drain more of what little energy she had left. Travel estimates put her arrival at late afternoon, considering her present lack of speed, and despite her exhaustion she knew she couldn't wait. These would be the roughest flights of her life...

A weak prodding in her spark made the situation far more bearable. Taking just a moment to prepare to fly, she put a hand to her chest, shaking but suddenly quite proud.

"We did it..." She whispered, still sounding quite breathless. "We made it out of there, you and I..."

The sparkling flared with approval, happy that she was happy. All she could really comprehend was that she'd saved the bitlet and herself from something too horrible to even think about. It was far safer now than it had been, but they still had a long way to go. Finding the strength to stand, she leaned on a tree for support, shaking the whole while and threatening to collapse more than once. She'd need an impossible amount of rest after this.

Finding her balance, she transformed and eased her way upwards, going a fraction of her earlier speed as she took to the clouds. The echo in her spark flared with joy as she settled into a flight path. Realizing the sparkling was reacting to its first relaxed experience with the sky, she couldn't help but share in its feelings. It had been far too long since she'd had air beneath her wings. Even without sound or sight to guide it, the sparkling knew the sky through their bond, and she felt their kinship more strongly than ever. This was her own creation, experiencing the incredible freedom of the sky with her, and it was almost overwhelming. A little too much for her at the moment, actually.

For both of their sakes, she turned her focus to her radar. Even if they couldn't track her, there was a distinct possibility Starscream had his Seekers combing the sky, and she was in no shape for an air battle. It was also possible the bunker was now descending into an absolute meltdown. She didn't really feel too bad if that was the case. They'd trapped her, lied to her, betrayed their cause, and even if the sparkling was something she could use to her advantage, she wasn't exactly going to thank any of them for it. The possibility of at least some of them searching for her was very real though, so she kept all her senses attuned as she flew.

The only good thing about keeping herself so busy with surveillance was that it helped the time pass a little faster. Light shifted as she got closer to her destination, marking the suns movement overhead as the hours ticked by. While she definitely wished she could have gotten more rest, the ease of a manageable flight speed at least helped her settle into a kind of flow that made weariness easier to ignore. The location of the Ark ticked ever closer on her radar, and it occurred to her that who she should seek out was a bit uncertain. Truce talks required every bot of any importance, including Megatron himself, but which would be most open to listening to her? Ideally any, if she opened with the fact that she knew the location of the most coveted artifacts of her species. But considering how trigger happy some of them were, it was possible an assumed traitor like herself would be shot on sight...

The landing zone entered the edge of her vision with a matching sense of dread. There was very little time to plan now. With her natural sense of strategy, she devised that the best course of action was to land close to a Decepticon shuttle, but far enough away to ensure she could approach after scouting out the location. After all, landing in the middle of everything could very quickly turn the truce ceasefire into an all out brawl.

The main shuttle was only a short distance from the Ark, but a helpful line of trees flanked its edges. She couldn't have asked for a better spot to land. And just in time too...

There was barely a sign of any bots in sight when she landed in a clearing, but she took it as a blessing as she transformed and took a knee. Having some time on the ground alone would allow her to recover. Keeping her senses sharp, she took a moment to ventilate deeply, shaking like an earth leaf from the toll the day had taken on her. She hadn't even refueled in forever without managing to purge it up. It was safe to say she was reaching her limits.

On shaking legs, she approached the edge of the trees and entered the shadow of the great Decepticon shuttle. No doubt it was packed with soldiers in case the talks went south. With the sun getting low at her back, she approached with more apprehension than she'd ever thought she'd feel approaching a Decepticon installation, her optics scanning for any sign of life all along its length until a flash of blue caught her attention.

Soundwave stood at the base of the ramp into the belly of the ship, looking disgruntled but hardly like a bot ready for battle. He was not her first choice, but at least he was a little less likely to shoot on sight than Shadowstriker. Steeling herself, she approached the ramp with purpose but no outward signs of hostility, hoping she looked as little like a threat as possible.

"Soundwave, we must speak." She said, watching every move he made as she approached. It was impossible to hide the sag of exhaustion in her wings or the droop in her frame, but she hoped it would just add to her nonthreatening appearance. Soundwave stopped and stepped off the ramp, something like surprise passing over his visor before he replied with very obvious distaste.

"Must we, Slipstream?" His tone was rough, but at least he didn't go straight for fighting. Taking that as a better sign than she had any right to hope for, she jumped into her explanation, not really knowing how to get it all out but trying her best.

"Listen; I need to tell you about-"

A dramatic shift in his body language cut her off cold.

"It was a mistaken to come here, traitor. Now listen to me."

There was no time to react before he went on the offensive, his speakers already charged as they blasted forth a concussive and endless barrage of sound. She was on her knees in moments, the crushing noise overwhelming her audials with devastating agony that made her scream. Throwing her hands over her audial receptors, she cried out as the merciless vibrations wracked her body and threatened to crack her armor. It took everything for her to regain control, her spinning vision locking on Soundwave as a defiant will to live gave her the strength to fight back. She'd come too far to die to an acoustic blast.

Hurling herself over him, she gave a kick to his helm, knowing he could only use his speakers if he was able to concentrate. Desperate not to lose the first chance she had to tell the outside world of the madness she escaped, she tried to continue.

"Starscream's gone mad! He's trying to-!"

"He was always mad." He interrupted carelessly, grabbing at his blaster and immediately opening fire. Two shots hit the strongest part of her armor before she was able to close the distance between them, her panic rising as she realized he was not going to be open to discussion. Punching the blaster from his grasp, she didn't even have time to attempt to flee before he returned the favor, his fists colliding with her helm in a cruel barrage that concluded with an uppercut that sent her flying.

Crashing to the ground again, her world spun as her brain module fritzed from the blows. She was barely cognizant of being helpless on her back before he once again blared his speakers, pinning her to the ground with an earth shaking blast of sound. Her blurry optics barely caught sight of him charging up a more concentrated burst. Knowing she wouldn't survive a hit so close, what remained of her strength concentrated in her arm, her blaster heating up as she charged her own attack. Shaking as she fought against him, she curled her arm in the moments she had to spare, and fired right at him.

By the grace of a usually merciless Primus, her shot collided with the meeting point of his neck and shoulder, the concussive round staggering him before a second blast collided with the far less armored portion of his midsection. Immediately dazed, he was knocked onto his own back, ending the torture and leaving her sprawled as he lay in a daze.

Shaking from the effort, she rose on willpower alone, audials still ringing and whole body now feeling like it had been dipped in magma. A weak flutter in her spark was the motivation she needed to take the first few steps away from the battlefield. The reproduction chamber was essentially armored better than she was, meaning the sparkling was probably okay. But that hardly mattered if she didn't take care of herself.

Panic gave her another excellent burst of motivation to begin limping forward. She really was a traitor in the optics of the Decepticons, so much so that they apparently decided she wasn't even worth the effort of punishing. Knowing it to be a possibility didn't make it any less terrifying to be true. In the rapidly fading light, she looked in the direction of the Ark, a desperate will to live allowing her to ignore any semblance of reason. She had to speak to somebot, any bot willing to listen. Starscream had the Allspark and Vector Sigma, and he was willing to commit unending horrors to see his impossible vision made real. Likely moreso now, that he'd suffered her loss...

A flash of red caught her optics.

Equidistant from the Ark and the Decepticon shuttle was a collapsible shelter, something she immediately recognized as the neutral ground always chosen for peace talks. Inside would be Optimus Prime and Megatron. There wasn't a single bot in sight between it and her, and she immediately began limping, her dark colors slowly dissapearing into the falling night as she tried to cross the seemingly endless distance. She had no idea how she was still moving. Every part of her was drained and aching, her empty fuel tanks both calling out for fuel and churning in nausea as she took each painful, trembling step.

Time was almost nonexistent as she came to the shelter, rounding its edge in search of an entrance when an all too familiar voice called out.

"Who's there?"

Slipstream almost ran into the Stormfall Sword as Windblade unsheathed it, the glowing blade hardly registering as a threat when she realized exactly who she was facing. For the first time in her life, she wasn't unhappy to see an Autobot.

"Windblade, we need to talk..." She began, approaching the other femme with a hand on a piece of chest armor Soundwaves attack had damaged. Windblade didn't budge, sword still out and defensive posture still ready.

"That's not exactly what you and I do."

Complete desperation overtook her. So many bots, including herself, were going to die if she wasn't heeded. Careless to her pride, she bared her spark as she begged. "I _need_ someone to listen to me!"

"Go on." Windblade prompted, lowering the blade. Not even having the capacity for relief, she poured forth what she knew, talking fast and scared.

"He's in the missile silo... with the Seekers. He's... delusional! He thinks he's been chosen! And he's used the Allspark for something..."

Her voice broke, the horror in Windblades optics making her pause. For the first time, outside of the bunker, she thought back on what had happened to her. With everything she'd been forced to go through, it was hard to see what happened as a purely neutral experience. Finding the words to be vague, she continued.

"He's done things to me... Starscream will destroy everything!"

"Then... we must tell Optimus and Megatron immediately." She said, sheathing her sword and going to the doors. Slipstream actually felt her first instance of relief. Who cared if it was her mortal enemy? She'd been believed, and she'd finally have an audience that could do something about the problem. Perhaps all wasn't lost after all.

"Thank you..."

Windblade opened the door as she approached with her limp, speaking to the two gathered mechs before Slipstream even had a chance to join her in the door frame.

"Optimus, I know you requested no bot enter, but there's been an emergency update." Windblade said, looking to Slipstream as she finally managed to enter the line of sight of their two leaders. Optimus and Megatron sat at opposite ends of a long table, designed as such to ensure neither could attempt and unexpected attack on the other. At the mere sight of her, Megatron went from curious to glaring, his blaster humming as he pushed out his chair.

"Slipstream! You must have a death wish, knowing how I deal with traitors!"

The words hit her hard, but we're not unexpected. She took advantage of his gap in speech to try and plead her case.

"Lord Megatron, I would never betray-"

"Slipstream has information on Starscream and his whereabouts, and his plans." Windblade interrupted, guiding the conversation back somewhere productive. Slipstream actually felt grateful, at least until the attempt failed and Megatron continued his rant.

"Of course she does. She and her subordinates joined him, and are no doubt a part of the reason Starscream now controls the Allspark."

"I did not go willingly, my Lord." She said, keeping the desperation from her voice as it would win her no favors. At his pause, she tried took continue, hating how her leaders stubbornness was unknowingly keeping him from the vital information she had to share. "Starscream and the others took me captive-"

"And why would he do that? What use would Starscream have with a prisoner? He knows I do not trade." Megatron accused, making her flinch. Trying to speak to him was like beating herself against a wall. Clearly, her guilt was already decided, and he would hear nothing from her.

"Please, Megatron, allow her to speak." Optimus spoke up, granting her and avenue never could have predicted. Megatron gave his enemy a glare, then went quiet, still scowling but remaining quiet for the sake of diplomacy. The floor was hers. Just trying to stay on her pedes, she took a vent, letting the information come forth as logically as it could.

"Starscream is in the missile silo my team and I used before your arrival to earth. He plans to use the Allspark and Vector Sigma to create a new race of Cybertronians. He seeks to eliminate anything without wings, and use his own CNA to start a new population in his image. He'll do anything to see it happen, and he used me to try and start it all."

"How could he use you? You are no scientist. Acid Storm would be all he needs to program Vector Sigma." Megatron said again, this time in the form of a digruntled but genuine question. The words cut her deep with the realization that the three bots present were arguably the last ones she wanted to tell of her present condition. Regardless, she had to. Preparing herself, she spoke in halting tones, trying to remain strong even when every part of her felt weak.

"The Allspark doesn't have the ability to create new Cybertronians from nothing as it once did. Starscream... he wanted to begin anew, with rebirth through... natural methods. He chose me to be the first... I... I am sparked."

The atmosphere of the room shifted as if something had been struck. Wide optics bored into her from every side, and again she felt like a freak on display. At her left, she heard Windblade gasp and whisper.

"Primus..."

Optimus recovered first, finding his voice with a touch more energy than usual. "If this is true-"

"Of course it isn't true!"

The bellow came with two fists slamming on the table, nearly knocking her over with the force of their rage. Megatron was visibly furious, his optics tearing her apart as he turned between her and Optimus.

"Prime, so you really believe this? The Allspark, incapable of creating new life? And Starscream, _impregnating _his subordinate, to birth a new species? Far more likely I have a traitor crawling back to attempt to infiltrate my ranks." He roared, pointing with his canon arm. She took a step back, panic in her spark. None of this had gone the way she'd thought it would. Of course She hadn't expected him to be happy, but she never would have expected him to be ready to kill her for the information. Or worse, to believe she'd made it all up. Once again, Optimus Prime came to the rescue.

"Windblade, you have a biometric scanner, do you not?"

The other jet got a little wide opticed at the question, but she nodded with poise. "Yes, Optimus."

"Slipstream, may we confirm your claims?" Optimus asked, looking to her. Knowing that confirming this would give far greater weight to her claims, she quickly agreed.

"Yes..."

Windblade let the scanner rise from her arm, and Slipstream turned to face her. Even Megatron went silent as the beam traced her chest, the readings projecting on the holo in clear visual format. Beside her own spark signature was a second, so clearly visible any bot could have recognized it. Losing her composure, Windblade allowed her optics to go wide, voice filled with disbelief as she said what they all already knew.

"It's positive. She's telling the truth."

Closing her optics, Slipstream felt a sense of shame at being so exposed. But at least the truth was out...

"Hmph, a minor detail, as far as I'm concerned."

She whirled on Megatron at those words, terrified beyond belief. How did this not vindicate her?! How hadn't she shown her loyalty, and proven herself worthy of rejoining his soldiers? She carried the first new member of their race in millions of years, surely there was value in that!

"Minor?! Lord Megatron, I risked my spark to return to you! I barely escaped with my life! I returned to offer my services and my sparkling to your cause-"

He silenced her with a single palm, now more annoyed than openly raging. Her legs shook harder at the change. She knew it was the tone he took when he was most dangerous. Whatever he had planned for her, his mind was made up, and nothing she could say would change it. "And what good is that to me? You have played your full hand. I know everything I need to know, and you have nothing else left to offer. If anything, this only makes you a burden in my optics. I have no use for sparklings in my war, and Starscream still has the Allspark."

Optimus looked ready to speak when the door opened behind them, a deep rumble scaring her bad enough to make him jump.

"If I may be so bold, Lord Megatron."

Both she and Windblade turned to see Shockwave, and they each got out of his way as he entered and took his leaders side. Hands behind his back, he was as calm as ever as he spoke. "I saw Slipstream approach, and sent one of my drones to investigate. I believe I may have a solution." A purple scuttle beneath the table caught Slipstreams optic, and she hated herself for missing it earlier. Shockwave fixed his one optic on her, and she shrunk beneath his gaze. There was a sick fascination in his optic, as well as an excitement in his voice that almost made her want to flee. "A developing sparkling offers a myriad of valuable opportunities to study. With proper experimentation, I could potentially produce something quite useful. Or at least, learn a great deal in the process."

"Certainly an interesting proposition. It seems you could be of use after all, Slipstream." Megatron mused, dark smile returning as she flashed back to the bunker. Hopelessness like she'd never known engulfed her entire being. She hadn't truly escaped. She'd just escaped one kind of torture and flown straight into another. There was no choice here. At best, she could hope to flee and make it a few miles before the shuttle overwhelmed her and blasted her out of the sky. Like a fool, she was trapped, and she couldn't save herself any more. Words failed her in the face of such horror.

"My Lord..." She croaked, dignity gone as she shook in visible fear. How could she have dreamed of returning with the Allspark and getting to raise her sparkling on a restored Cybertron, when this was all that awaited her. She'd be a plaything for Shockwave, as would her sparkling. His sick, twisted imagination would take the life she was growing and twist it to his own desires, and it was fully possible she wouldn't live to see the end of it. At her silence, Megatron renewed his glare.

"This is your only option. Take it, or I execute you for suspicion of treason."

There was a hiss of a laser sword unsheathing, and before she knew it she was behind a battle ready Windblade, her Stormfall Sword out and ready to defend.

"Not happening!"

"Windblade is right." Optimus joined in, standing from his chair and leveling a heavy gaze on his enemy before turning a softer one to her. "I cannot allow you to do this, Megatron. Slipstream, I offer you the chance to claim refuge aboard the Ark as a neutral party. We will provide protection and medical care for you and your sparkling."

Her head reeled at the never-ending assault on her reality. The leader of the Autobots and her rival were literally coming to her rescue, one standing before her as if to fight Megatron himself. Perhaps she'd never made it out of the missile silo. Perhaps this was all a dream, and she'd wake up on her berth a prisoner once more. Words failed her in the chaos.

"I..."

Megatron stood as well, pounding another dent into the table.

"If you dare to take another of my traitors into your rank, I will conclude these peace talks here and now, Optimus!"

Optimus was unflinching, his gaze returning to Slipstream.

"Slipstream, do you accept my offer?"

An unbreakable desire to live was the only real thing that allowed her to answer. It was the farthest thing from what she'd have ever wanted, but it was her only option. Closing her optics, she nodded, so lost in her grief that Megatron standing with a roar didn't even phase her.

"Then we return to war!" He moved to leave the shelter, pausing only to lean in and growl with the same kind of look he'd had when he attempted to murder Starscream. "Know this. When their protection inevitably ends, l will find you. And you will _wish_ you'd taken Shockwaves offer."

At that he was gone, and the chance of peace with him. All because of her. Everything she'd ever wanted was gone, and she was left in a black hole of loss. The cause she'd given so much to had tossed her aside like she was nothing, leaving her at the enemies mercy. And it was only by said mercy that she was still alive. Now she knew Primus must have been real, because the happenstance of fate alone could never be so cruel.

In that moment, a hand on her arm made her turn, and she saw Windblade. The other femme looked shocked but helpful, and she had no idea what to say. She couldn't imagine why she'd tried to help her. Slipstream had tried to kill her so many times, what could have possibly driven her to act in her defense? Maybe this wasn't even a dream. Maybe she'd finally gone as mad as the world around her.

"Windblade, will you escort Slipstream onto the Ark? She needs medical attention. I will alert Ratchet of your arrival." Optimus offered helpfully, a weary edge dragging his voice down. Windblade nodded, looking to Slipstream and gesturing for her to follow.

"This way. The medical bay isn't far."

With her current state rapidly catching up to her, she did the only thing she could and followed. Her body had been through the Pit, and without the rush of panic to distract her, she was left to face the pain and exhaustion that filled every inch. Limping, she kept pace with Windblade out the door, going in the direction of the Ark. Her new prison, as fate would have it.

The roar of a great shuttle taking off took her optics to the sky. Rising into the stars, the Decepticon shuttle left her behind, truly digging in the nature of her abandonment. She had nothing. Nothing to fight for, nothing to live by, and nothing to show for her dedication. Everything had been taken from her.

A weak tingling in her spark did little to change her mind.


	9. Comfort

The Ark may as well have been on the other side of the earth for how exhausted she was. Slipstream felt pain in every circuit of her being, topped off with an almost blinding brain module ache that made her fearful the distance would prove too much. The entire cycle had been nothing but running, fighting, and arguing for her very life, and she didn't even have fuel to keep herself going. A churning in her tanks marked the still present war between hunger and nausea, and she wondered if they'd be willing to feed her before locking her up.

Despite her slow pace, Windblade never rushed her, adjusting herself so they walked side by side. Slipstream couldn't help but feel wary about the entire thing. What guarantee did she have that this wasn't a trap, equal in horrors to whatever Shockwave had planned for her? Despite the Autobots claims of moral high ground, they were still fighting a war, and any advantage would be worth a sacrifice.

When they finally began climbing the ramp into the ship, she couldn't help but falter. Would she ever come out again? Was this going to be just another glorified prison? Why would her enemies treat her any better than her former comrades? Terrifying thoughts froze her trembling legs. Windblade turned to see her motionless, and in her absolute exhaustion, she wasn't able to hide her fear. Something passed over the other femmes expression; a softness like she'd never seen. Taking a few steps back to her, she held out her servo, speaking calmly and with a helpful smile.

"Ratchet has been informed of our arrival. He'll be waiting for you in the medical bay. He's going to help you." She said, her voice easing Slipstream back into control. Refusing to be any weaker than her body was already forcing her to be, she dropped her gaze, not taking the offered hand but continuing up the ramp with a murmur.

"Of course..."

Upon reaching the top and officially entering the Ark, she noted that her vents were coming in a little quickly. Clearly the small incline had sapped a sizable portion of what remained of her stamina. The immediate rush of cold air did little to quell her rising discomfort. Why did the Autobots have to keep their ship so cold? Her helm was threatening to split and she was already trembling from exhaustion, shivering wasn't something she needed to be doing. A surge of nausea at the disturbance almost made her knees buckle, and she had to stumble over to a wall for support, trembling intensifying the whole time. Windblade turned at the sound of her near fall, concern now quite obvious on her features.

"Slipstream?"

Shaking hard enough to rattle her armor, she tried to be proud, forcing out an assurance.

"I... I'm fi-"

Her legs gave out before she could even finish the sentence. Arms keeping her from crashing into the floor, she tried to steady herself on her hands and knees, helm swimming in pain and dizziness. Forgetting to be prideful in the face of danger, she ventilated hard to try and steady herself, her world little more than a mess of pain and sickness.

"Slipstream!" Windblade cried out in alarm, taking a spot beside her and trying without hesitation to sit her back on her heels. Too afraid of what was happening to resist, she accepted the help, vision a blur of spinning shapes that matched the churning in her tanks. She barely caught sight of the others frantic features, and was too far gone to hide anything. "What's wrong?"

Words were impossible. The nausea overtook her and again dropped to her hands and knees, heaving as her body tried to find some semblance of order. A tiny amount of energon was all that came up, and she knew there was no more. A hand on her back tried to steady her, Windblade remaining unflinching by her side even as she emptied what little fuel she had left.

"Ratchet, change in plans, I need you to come to us." Windblade clipped into her comm, frightened but resolute. Before any kind of response could be expected, a loud voice called out in person.

"Already done."

Slipstream lifted her shaking helm to see the red and white of the medic, and for the second time that night, actually felt relieved to see an Autobot. She felt too ill to possibly care about any conspiracy. If there was any chance she could feel better, she'd jump on it.

"I figured things would be bad enough to warrant a house call." Ratchet said, kneeling down with a small kit in hand. Taking out a small syringe, he put it to her arm before she could ask a single question and slipped the needle into the gap of her elbow. There was the tiniest hint of pain before a bit of warmth hit her veins. In moments, she felt more in control, a soft sound of relaxation actually passing her lips. Pain and discomfort were still everywhere, but she could handle it, and her shaking lessened to an extent.

"That should get you to the medical bay with support. Windblade, give her something to lean on. I'll clear out any lookey-loos." Ratchet instructed, triggering an almost automatic response from her.

"I don't... need help..." She croaked, flinching away from the offered support and trying to stand on her own. Being more aware came with the terrible price of realizing how vulnerable she was. Windblade of all bots had just seen her lose enough control to purge, which was humiliating enough in itself, and she still had no reason to trust them with that kind of weakness. It wasn't too hard to believe she was being lulled into a false sense of security by their offers of help.

"Well you're getting it. Let's get going." Ratchet said, bringing her to her pedes with a firm but gentle pull. When she was still too weak to stand, Windblade swung in, taking a place beneath her arm and giving her something to lean on. It was quite clear she had no power to deny. Unwilling to fight any further, she relented, allowing her worst enemy to help her walk down the hallway of the ship.

"Primus, you're freezing." Windblade said, now far too close for comfort and feeling her cold armor through contact.

"Your _ship_ is freezing." Slipstream corrected, refusing to be quiet or cooperative. She was hardly a guest, after all, so she wouldn't be acting like one. For all she knew, she wasn't even being led to a medical bay...

"Your body is too low on energy to produce heat. Once we get you sufficiently fueled, you'll start to warm up." Ratchet quipped, not even looking back. Slipstream went quiet at that, not knowing how to reply. That actually made quite a bit of sense, when she actually bothered to think about it, and she wasn't sure why a mech intending to end her would give her a proper diagnosis.

The medical bay wasn't far at all, which made sense, from a strategical perspective. Why would anyone want to carry an injured bot very far? Despite her well warranted skepticism, the sight of the doors parting and a well stocked, clean, nonthreatening medical bay was an inherent comfort. There was no sign of the broken body parts and scuttling drones Shockwave kept in theirs, and that alone marked an improvement that was almost enough to make her hope.

Without needing to be told, she collapsed onto the lowered medical berth with a sigh, laying on her back as her exhausted body finally got to rest under the weight of everything that had been done to her. She would have easily fallen into recharge without a care when the berth was raised for easier access to Ratchet, and he immediately began asking questions.

"How far along are you?"

Right out of the gate, he broke past her comfort zone. It felt like she was being made to air her most private secrets to every bot she least wanted to. But it occurred to her that her answer mattered little. If they intended to do harm, lying would serve no purpose here. If they truly did intend to help, then the truth would go a long way to making her better. Perhaps she was just encouraged by the knowledgeable authority in his voice as well, but she answered.

"Almost two months." She replied, thankfully certain down to the day. Had she not felt so exposed, she would have put a hand to her midsection, but she didn't dare reveal herself like that.

"Should show up in a scan then. Hold still." He replied, moving with speed and precision that astounded her. The tools of the lab moved into their proper places in a blur, his hands flying over a keyboard that triggered a green beam to run up and down her frame before she even remembered that's what he'd set out to do.

"Windblade, stay here. I'll probably need help." Ratchet piped up as the scan continued, leaving her to cast her optics downward to get a view of the red femme standing awkwardly by the door. No doubt, she'd tried to slip out, and personally Slipstream wished she had. Even if death and torture weren't off the table, she'd rather not have been seen any more like this. All of their history wasn't going to just dissapear, after all, and Windblade was far from her favorite bot to be around.

"Primus, did they feed you regularly?" Ratchet said in displeasure, reading the scan results with a kind of proffesional disappointment. Too hungry to care about skepticism in the face of a potential meal, she again answered honestly. What was the worst they could do with the truth; starve her more than she already was?

"Yes. Energon and earth ores."

"Let me guess; you haven't successfully refueled in a while? Keep purging it up?" He asked, striking a chord with his correct assessment as well as how personal the question was once more. She wanted to eat, but she didn't want any bot knowing the intimate details of why she'd been so weak. Why did Windblade of all bots have to be here especially, did they really not have a medical assistant in hand? In fact, was there really no one else who could have helped? Windblade had to be enjoying this, at least a little, seeing her enemy laid so low... Despite all of her protests, the medics unrelenting look of expectant authority wore her down.

"Yes..." She muttered just loud enough to be heard, thoroughly defeated. Why bother fighting any more? It was over for her anyway, wasn't it? She'd lost everything else, what was one more thing?

"I'll get you on a drip, then mix up something to take care of that. Regardless, your nanite levels are way too low. I'm putting you on an infusion diet in the meantime, your body has started metabolizing itself to make up for the missing minerals. Any chance it's a grounder?" Ratchet said, moving about in a rush of efficiency that once again frightened her. Never in her life had she seen so much action out of a single bot, especially directed at her. Decepticon medics just stopped the bleeding and got you out the door, but here he was going into depth on solutions for every problem she seemed to be having. It mystified her enough to keep her talking.

"No. It's a Jet."

There was no reaction beyond a nod as he grabbed what appeared to be an energon canister for IVs, only with a rather off color looking energon. Capping it for use, he continued talking, typing something into a monitor.

"I'll need high aluminum content infusers then. Teletraan-X, have these schematics sent to Wheeljack and tell him I need them stat. Windblade, come here." He ordered, and she was barely cognizant of a voice in the ceiling giving an affirmation as the other femme approached. Ratchet handed her the canister and a small pouch she recognized as a heating pad, pressing the two together and guiding her hands as he spoke.

"Take this, hold it at that height, keep this pressed against it, and don't let go. I wasn't exactly prepped for sparkling care, so I don't have a proper setup, but this is a special mix that will go a long way." He explained, setting her arms at a specific height and hooking up a line to tipped with a needle. Windblade looked uncertain as a bot could be, but did exactly as instructed as Ratchet took the needle and again guided it to the elbow joint armor gap in Slipstreams arm. There was a pinch as it entered a vein, and for the briefest of moments, she wondered what horror might await her.

Instead of any kind of pain or discomfort, a gentle warmth began to flow through her body, soothing everything it touched and relaxing the aches and pains so thoroughly she let out a small sigh. Nothing had ever made her feel so much better. It was almost impossible not to give into recharge right then and there, with the gentle heat filling her body and allowing her exhaustion to exist without the pain that had been keeping her awake.

"I need to mix a booster injection. Stay still, I'll just be in the other room for a klik." Ratchet advised, turning and leaving for a small side room without another word. She and Windblade were left completely alone in a silence so awkward it pulled her right out of any hope for sleep. Windblade avoided optic contact, but stood dutifully at her post, hands never wavering on the heating pad or the canister. Slipstream couldn't make any sense of it all. Just a short while ago they had been fighting, just as they had done so many times before. She'd tortured her, nearly killed her, and made it here very obvious mission to be the one to personally end her life in any way possible. And yet here she was, assisting the medic that was apparently saving her. But why? Why were they treating her? The Autobots were her enemy, yet here she was in their medical bay, a supposed guest who had yet to be mistreated once since arriving. None of it made sense, and the maddening desire to understand finally broke her.

"Why are you helping me?" She asked, breaking the silence and making the other femme give a little jump of surprise. Windblade looked absolutely perplexed at the question, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"What do you mean? You heard Optimus." She answered, speaking slowly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Slipstream grit her dentae. How could she not understand her confusion? The weariness of a day of suffering left her with no patience to spare, and she started to pour forth her spark without control.

"But _why_? I'm a- I _was_ a Decepticon! Megatron was going to see me taken care of, you would have had one fewer enemy to contend with, and I have nothing to offer you. And yet your leader threw away a chance at peace just to save me! I don't understand."

Windblade went quiet at the tirade, her fingers curling a bit more tightly around the objects entrusted to her. She looked alarmed by the outburst, then thoughtful, before finally opening up with her own tone of vulnerability.

"He wasn't going to let them do that to you. No Autobot would. I certainly wouldn't." She explained, conviction heavy at the end. Slipstream was still lost for anything resembling clarity. What Shockwave had wanted to do was indeed horrifying, and so was what Starscream had wanted, but why did that matter to Windblade? She wouldn't have faced any consequences. There would have been one less bot out to kill her, and one she thoroughly despised at that.

"But I'm your enemy. I've tried to terminate you more times than I can count. You hate me, I hate you. Why would you risk anything for me?" She asked, voice breaking as she began finally putting words to the enigma. None of this had yet given her anything resembling a logical reason for doing what they did. What could they possibly have gained?

Windblade closed her optics in thought, and her answer was the farthest from anything Slipstream had ever expected to hear.

"You risked everything to get to us and tell us the truth, and even if you hadn't, I couldn't have lived with myself if I'd let any bot suffer through what they had planned. After everything you've been through, I can let bygones be bygones if you can."

The words left her numb, and in the total absence of feeling something touched her spark. Despite herself, she felt a wave of protectiveness in her recovering state, and turned away from the other femme as she was forced to ask the hardest question.

"And my sparkling? I didn't lie. It was sired by Starscream. Will you terminate it?" Her tone was bitter, matching her lack of hope. It was one thing to forgive your enemy; but the offspring of your enemy? One sired in a sick ritual aimed at domination? How could they overlook that? Even Autobot morality, if it was truly real, had to have limits. Windblade flinched in horror at her last sentence before responding firmly.

"Never. It's yours, and you've decided to keep it, so it stays."

The assurance offered little comfort. Slipstream felt lost in a sea of doubt, unable to comprehend what had been said to her. It felt like she was speaking another language to a being from another world, or she may as well have been, for how little she was able to grasp of her explanations. Why would you help an enemy? She was too worn down to keep believing this was all a trap, but also too confused to believe she was in any way safe.

"I just don't understand..." She confessed wearily, feeling a faint heat at the corner of her optics in what she realized was the long forgotten sensation of tears. Refusing to let them fall, she looked away, hating the weakness that almost let her give in to something so disgustingly pathetic. Windblade spoke softly, a smile that absolutely confounded her as much as the words on her lips.

"You're safe. That's all you need to understand for now."

Ratchet entering broke through the fritz inducing confusion in her brain module.

"This booster will catch you up on the defecit of materials created by the sparklings need. It should help alleviate those brain module aches, and so long as you keep sufficiently fueled in the future, they shouldn't come back." He said, completely unaware of what he'd walked in on and talking without end as he had done before. The syringe in his fingers went into a cap in the line already in her arm, and its contents were emptied into her veins. Though there was no immediate relief, the pain was already down to a much more bearable level, likely thanks to the nearly empty canister revitalizing her once dangerously low energon levels.

"I'm missing a lot of basic sparkling care tools, but I'll have them built in short order. We'll have a proper Recreation Scanner soon, so you and I will be able to get a good look at them." He said, making her ponder over the unexpected proposal. A Recreation Scanner took its subject and did just as the name implied, recreate them in a three dimensional holograph. She'd actually be able to see her sparkling in the physical world...

"Right now what you really need is rest. I can do more in depth tests and get you on a proper diet in the morning." He said, taking the almost empty canister from Windblade and withdrawing the IV from her arm. It seemed impossible that she'd felt so near to death, and now was resting warm and tended to on a berth. It couldn't have been real. There still had to be a catch, some great price to pay for survival. The Decepticons had cast her out like refuse, why would the Autobots end up doing any different? But for now, she was exhausted, far too exhausted to resist the call of recharge.

"I will... do that..." She confirmed, a soft darkness already creeping up on the edges of her perception. Even with fuel, the day had still taken everything out of her, and the berth began to pull her down like a magnet. On the edge of her awareness, she heard the medic address Windblade, and she almost swore the last thing she saw was the lights being dimmed for her comfort.

"Work out a guard schedule with Optimus of bots we can trust to watch the door. I don't want anybot giving her trouble. I've got a lot of chemistry to get to..."


	10. Contract

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decepticons encountering kindness and being confused is an eternal favorite of yours truly.

Slipstream woke in the darkness and on and unfamiliar berth, and couldn't help but internally note what had happened the last time she'd found herself in such a situation. This time, however, she was fully aware of where she was and what was going on, and she quickly began observing her surroundings. She felt much warmer than when she'd gone under, and her body was quite comfortably settled on its side. The medical bay of the Ark was empty, and the lights dimmed, suggesting to her it was still before typical active hours. Only the gentle glow and hum of medical machinery was there for company.

This all immediately struck her as odd. First was that she hadn't been relocated to a prison cell while out, and second was that no one was guarding her in the room. Where they really leaving her unsupervised in the medical bay, of all places? Sure, she didn't have any plans of betrayal, but what if she did? She could have sabotaged any number of important healing implements with no one knowing. Autobots, so trusting...

A loud rumble in her tanks put the thought well out of her concern. All the purging she'd done before had emptied her completely, and she was absolutely ravenous. Looking about and spotting no convenient cube in sight, she decided to get up and look herself, still tired but feeling rejuvenated compared to the day before. 

An unexpected weight on her made her pause as she tried to get up from her side, and she felt in the darkness to discover a heating blanket had been laid on her in her power down. Blushing at the absurdity, she kicked it off in a huff, doing everything she could to ignore how comfortable it had been. In a bit of a rush, she got her pedes on the floor, slowing down only to quiet her movements to minimize the risk of discovery. That was a force of habit if nothing else. Having Autobots detect her had always been disastrous in the past, and she still wasn't certain it wouldn't end badly here. Keeping her hands on the berth for a bit of support, she took her first few quiet steps, optics struggling to adjust as she tried to look for a place to even begin searching.

Her unattended leg bumped into a knee height medical device with a clang so loud she actually jumped, and in the resulting lack of coordination in her attempt to righten herself her knee buckled and she slipped backward with a clatter so disastrous it could have awoken Unicron.

Swallowing a curse, she panicked so fully that she froze in her crumpled position on the floor, hearing a sudden rush of activity outside the medical bay. Blinding light streamed in when the doors flew open, making her cringe hard enough to just barely make out a silhouette. It was one she knew well enough. Seeing Windblade put her into a full panic, as she knew so little about the Autobots intentions that she had no idea whether lying or telling the truth about her situation would hurt her less.

"I just... I was only trying to..." The tangle of words caught on her glossa in her rush, and she was too worried standing would be a provocation to try. Windblade turned on the medical bay lights at a dimmed level, getting rid of the difference in brightness and allowing herself to be seen clearly in the doorway. Slipstream was completely blindsided by the look of worry that greeted her.

"Primus, let me help." She offered, hurrying over and holding out a hand. Too surprised by the endless stream of contradictions to her reality, she took the offer, allowing herself to be helped to her pedes. Shaking a little, she avoided optic contact as she continued. "I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd be waking up so soon."

Slipstream looked about the dark room for a moment before breaking the silence with a question, rubbing the side of her neck at the tension only she seemed capable of feeling. "What... what time is it?"

"About three in the morning. Ratchet is in the workshop with Wheeljack; they're working on all the new tools and supplies you'll be needing." She answered helpfully, going over to the device she'd accidentally kicked and putting it back right side up. Dying in mortification at her error, Slipstream looked for a way out of her situation, painfully uncomfortably with the Autobot acting this way to her.

Another rumble from her tanks, so loud it could have been heard across the room, only dug her deeper. Optics going wide in horror, she threw her hands over the offending spot to try and silence the noise. A blush she couldn't stop briefly flared in her humiliation. Windblade only looked more concerned, absolutely baffling her with the complete one eighty from their established interactions. Even having seen it the night before, this sudden concern and care was illogical enough that she'd probably never get used to it.

"You have to be starving. Here, Ratchet made these right after you powered down." She offered, going to a small cooling unit and opening it to reveal a few cups of glowing energon. Grabbing one, she closed the door halfway before visibly coming to a realization, her free hand grabbing a small bottle of pills atop the cooling unit before she returned with both.

"Oh wait, he also made these. Said they were for the sickness." She explained, offering the bottle and reminding Slipstream of what the medic had said before. Primus, how fast did he work? The pills were small but otherwise ordinary looking, and at the prospect of not being sick she popped one in her mouth and swallowed without too much suspicion. If they had been planning on killing or torturing her, it seemed highly unlikely they would start now.

"Do you want this heated up?" Windblade offered while gesturing to the cup. While she was very hungry, the prospect of a warm ration was too good to pass up, and she answered awkwardly but quickly.

"Yes, I..."

Catching herself, it occurred to her that Windblade of all bots was putting her food in the heater like they were old friends. Even with the events of the night before, she could make no sense of it. So they'd taken her in and offered her shelter; why were they treating her like a long lost Autobot? As they sat with the hum of the heater, she couldn't help but ask. "Why are you being so nice to me?"

"After everything you've been through, I figured you could use some common decency." Windblade answered after less of a pause then she'd been expecting, standing with her arms crossed as they waited for the cup to get warm.

"The change is just... sudden." Slipstream replied, leaning back against the berth and allowing it to support some of her weight. Bending forward a little to hide the faint bulge on her midsection, she wished she could have read the other femmes thoughts. Were they as genuine as they appeared? Perhaps she'd feel a little less apprehensive if she could confirm the truth of her intentions, even if they still wouldn't make too much sense.

"Everything that happened was pretty sudden." Windblade replied as she pulled the gently steaming cup from the heater when it finally dinged, handing it over with a weary smile. _You don't know the half of it_... She wanted to say, settling for taking the cup in both hands with a nod of thanks. Despite being starving, she took her first sip slowly, savoring the warmth as it flowed down into her empty tanks. The flavor was little more than a subtle sweetness, but it was like heaven compared to what she'd been eating. Thoughts came more clearly as fuel filled her.

"That's putting it mildly." She replied after a delay, recalling the impossibly eventful hours that had led her here. By decree of Megatron himself, she was no longer welcome amongst his ranks, and the Autobots were her sole salvation. But what would they expect for that favor? Nothing in life came for free, and yet she had precious little to give. Asking for clarification seemed to be her best bet. "What happens now?"

"You've been given refuge. I'd imagine you stay on the Ark and focus on getting better for now." Windblade replied, taking a similiar stance to hers and leaning on a sturdy monitor whilst crossing her arms comfortably. The answer gave her nothing. What was she supposed to _do?_ The cause she'd spent millions of years dedicating herself to wanted nothing to do with her, and the one she'd been fighting was now sheltering and feeding her. Surely there had to be a price.

"And what will be expected of me? I won't fight for your cause. I can say that much now." She said, a little more prickly than was perhaps warranted. Not being a Decepticon didn't automatically make her an Autobot, and she wasn't going to kill former comrades just because her old leader had a grudge against the mech who'd knocked her up. Of course, she hardly wanted to call herself Neutral either, leaving her in a very unnatural place.

"I don't think anyone would want you on a battlefield any time soon." Windblade replied with a touch of snark, the quick but very true comebacks making her huff in indignation. There was no denying that she'd be out of any kind of fighting until the sparkling was born, and likely some time after. Which was fine by her, but if they didn't expect her to help on the battlefield.

"Fair point. Then what will your leader want from me?"

Windblade blinked in confusion, brows furrowing as if she couldn't quite believe the concept was so difficult. "This isn't an exchange. You were offered refuge to save your life, and your..."

"Sparkling. Please just say it." Slipstream interjected, wanting to end any tiptoeing around the subject before it could begin. As awful as being a glorified prisoner of a messiah had been, being the guest of overly sensitive bots afraid to do much as speak her condition would certainly be worse.

"Sorry. It's just been... a very long time." Windblade replied with a sigh, optics darting over to her belly for the briefest of moments. She couldn't blame her too much for the glance, but even if she didn't want the fact that she was carrying to be taboo, she was hardly ready for it to be a point of discussion at the same time.

"So I live on your ship, using up your resources, and you expect nothing but the moral high ground in return? I'd be lying if I said I understood." She said, bringing the topic back to what she really wanted. Surely they had to _expect_ something from her, and even if they didn't, she wasn't truly comfortable with the idea of just doing nothing until she was back in fighting shape. If she had something to focus on for her day to day, she'd at least feel a little better. It would give her a purpose to fill the void she didn't want to admit had been torn inside of her...

"You could give us information on Starscream. His plans sound... deranged, but with power to back him up, he's likely going to be one of our bigger threats. I have to say again though, you don't _have_ to give us anything." Windblade replied, putting extra emphasis on the end. While Slipstream was beggining to believe the Autobots truly had no intent to saving her beyond ensuring she didn't become the subject of an experiment, it mattered less to her now than it did before. She'd go mad without something to strive for, and without the war she'd dedicated herself to, her options were slim. Hunting down the mech who'd put her in this position was the best she had.

"If nothing else, it will give me a goal while I laze about. Primus knows he'll be hunting me down, so working to capture Starscream would be to both of our benefits." She replied, finishing off the last of her cup with a sigh. The pills must have been working, because not a trace of nausea was there to upset her tanks. The Autobot medic was truly a miracle worker.

"Why would he be hunting you?" Windblade asked, the genuine confusion in her optics speaking to her naivety of the depth of Starscreams madness. Sighing, she decided to explain, hoping she may be able to convey just how serious of a threat they were dealing with.

"As far as he's concerned, the sparkling is his, and I stole his property. He wanted to... _enhance and accelerate_ the carrying process using Vector Sigma, and that's when I escaped. I have no doubt he still wants to do the same, and he'll stop at nothing to get back at me for getting in his way." Slipstream said, baring her spark a little for the sake of being heard. The memory was still fresh enough to instill fear, and she had to fight a shudder at the thought of the Allspark and Vector Sigma being programmed into such a sick perversion of their nature. To her credit, Windblade looked properly horrified.

"Primus... I believed you from the start, but now... He's not getting you or your sparkling. You'll both be safe here." She said, as much conviction in her voice as when she'd jumped before her to block Megatron during the peace talks. Where exactly this newfound camaraderie was coming from still confused her, but not feeling alone was pleasant enough for her to ignore that. A bitter smile on her lips, she put her cup to the side and replied.

"You'll forgive me if I work to ensure that myself. At least your ship has suitable defenses for a reformatted cargo holder. Will I be allowed access to more than just this medical bay? I've grown a little tired of being kept in a single room..." The last sentence carried a chill she couldn't suppress, her limbs feeling stiff just at the thought of being holed up for so long. While there was certainly far more room in here than her old cell, it was still hardly enough to keep her occupied or sane for the rest of her term.

"Starscream kept you in just-? I mean, I'll have Teletraan-X put you in the system, that way you don't trip up any defenses." Windblade replied, cutting off her exclamation of disbelief with a more sensible reply. Despite common sense, she genuinely hoped the other femme was being truthful. Even if there was no point to spying as no Decepticon would ever hear what she had to say, she was also just genuinely curious as to what the Autobot ship looked like. Certainly better lit, for one...

"Good." She replied, looking forward to stretching her legs more than she ever had as a prisoner. Thinking back to her time in the cell, she couldn't help but make a face and remember what had been her near day to day torture. "Hopefully you have a Molder as well. If I have to eat one more piece of unrefined ore, I will shoot whoever brings it to me."

"Primus, he didn't even have a Molder?!" Windblade replied, look of disgust surprisingly vindicating.

"No. I take it that means you do?" Slipstream replied, hoping beyond hope she'd have at least a taste of civilization here. While her world may have shifted, the welcome she was receiving was definitely softening the blow. Of course she was still far from happy with it...

"Not to brag, but I think you'll find it more than acceptable. Anything I can get you? We've got full stocks of pretty much everything basic." Windblade replied, looking confident but not smug. Blindsided by the offer, she stood in silence for the moment. No Decepticon would ever make an offer like that, on a ship where every ore pulled from the earth was rationed from necessity or hoarded by top officers for gluttony. But at the prospect of having a genuine bit of good food, her defenses dropped long enough for her to mumble out a request.

"I... Admittedly, it's been some time since I've had... cinnabar. I'll... work to replace it when I'm able."

Despite what she had every reason to expect, Windblade didn't immediately retract the offer as a joke and laugh at her for falling for it. Instead, she only gently shook her helm, uncrossing her arms and closing the distance between them to a friendly chat. "You don't have to replace anything. Ratchet would end anyone who let you do physical labor, even if you wanted to. I'll tell him you're up and work to have some cinnabar included in the next meal you're scheduled."

"Thank you..." Bewildered as usual but hopeful for... what exactly, she wasn't sure, she mumbled a quick reply before the other femme turned to leave. Regaining herself just enough to feel a touch of wounded pride, she quickly corrected herself with an addendum that came out more matter of fact than rude.

"But to be clear, this doesn't make us friends."

"I didn't expect it to." Windblade replied with a laugh, taking some of the drive from her insistence on being unpleasant. It was hard to keep a fire going when every turn was met with pleasantries. Primus, she didn't even actively hate her anymore. Uncertain of what to do with the whirlwind of change that had been upsetting her life, she got back on the berth, sitting down to process the interaction and calling out just as Windblade was about to reach the door.

"Good. I will... wait for your medic, then."

"Try "Ratchet" for a change. He's your medic now too." She corrected playfully, hitting a strange chord within Slipstream that she didn't know what to do with. _Her_ medic, taking care of her needs, keeping her healthy, all without any expectation of simply returning her to the battlefield. Yet to what end? Why put in resources if you see no gains? It was the core of the Autobot enigma that was vexxing her so, and the reason she still had traces of doubt about their intentions. Too overwhelmed still to really mull it over, she replied in a simple and almost polite acknowledgement.

"Understood."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my mind Slipstream enjoys cinnabar crystals as an absolute favorite snack. While deadly to us, Cybertronians taste it as a kind of sweet and spicy deal, think cinnamon roasted nuts.


	11. Contemplate

****

"This is hardly up to code, but it'll get the job done." Ratchet said, still working on an armada of switches and buttons on the side of the device he'd hauled in and set beside her berth to get it calibrated. Slipstream wasn't at all certain. While the machine looked stable enough, the fact that it was going to be so close to her sparkling made her incredibly wary, and she didn't exactly have the best track record with technology and her carrying cycle at the moment.

There was a whirr followed by a hum of life, and the medic finally seemed satisfied. Standing from the machines place beside her berth, he lifted the small attachment connected to the main body with a wire, and explained when he saw her optics following his every move.

"This is just the scanner and projector, the main body is there to process the data and create the image." Ratchet explained, holding up the palm sized attachment and allowing her to get a good look at it. Completely without obvious function to the optic, it was a rounded and off gray oval that was notably flat on the bottom.

"And you're certain it's... harmless?" She asked, still not convinced by its nonthreatening appearance.

"It's essentially just a more powerful, more focused scanner. There's nothing it could do that would harm you or the sparkling." He assured, sounding a little annoyed with her hesitation. To be fair, he had been awake since the night before, but that didn't make her frown any less. Knowing there would be no gain to further questions, she laid back on her elbows, looking down at herself and the just visible swell.

"Alright. What do I do?"

"Just hold still. It's fairly automatic, and all you should feel is a little tingle." Ratchet advised, bringing the attachment to her midsection and laying it over her reproduction chamber. When his hand just barely brushed her stomach in the process, she couldn't hold back a flinch, feeling naturally protective of the part of her body she hadn't allowed anyone to touch so far. The contact was thankfully brief, and he didn't seem to notice her reaction. Kneeling by the main body of the machine, he got right to work.

"Whoa..."

Slipstream couldn't keep the word down as a tingling in her lower abdomen started up as the scanner did. Without delay, the bond in her spark reacted in kind, reaching out to her with confusion and fear. Not having felt the sparkling while her body was weak, she was relieved to have its presence back, and quickly offered her comfort. Considering its body was currently taking the full sensation of its first scan, it made sense the poor thing likely wasn't enjoying the new experience.

"There we are. Image should be ready now." Ratchet announced, adjusting a few more of the many dials and switches on the machine to get it humming louder. There was a brief delay before the attachment on her stomach gave a visible shake, then went still as it projected a three dimensional hologram over itself for all to see.

Slipstream couldn't stop a gasp at the sight, even if she'd been expecting it. The image of her sparkling as it was in her reproduction chamber hovered in clear view before her, the light blur doing nothing to detract from the curled and barely developed shape she immediately recognized as a sparkling. _Her_ sparkling, growing and taking shape inside of her.

"They're about the size I'd expect. Neural net and basic frame pieces are all that's developed right now; there's the wings right there though, see?" Ratchet said, either oblivious to her shock or too amazed to take note as he pointed to the obvious nubs on the bitlets back. Though the whole body consisted of little more than a huge helm and oversized optics with a body that had barely begun to segment, the wings were of far more discernible purpose. She'd always known they developed early, but to actually see the tiny expansions that would one day support flight...

"Yes..." She said in a vent, too awed to do much else. The conditions of its existence were nonexistent in her mind. This sparkling was hers and hers alone, growing within her body and taking shape by her own power. It was almost indescribable.

"Too early to tell if it's a mech or a femme. Can you feel their spark?" Ratchet asked, looking away from the hologram and to her.

"I can. They... they're definitely reacting to this." She said, noting that the frightened inquisition aimed at her had become a buzzing, as if the sparkling was attempting to parrot what it was feeling. Primus damn her, it was _adorable_.

"That's good. Sensory nodes are already functional then. Try and coax them to move, if you can." He instructed, leaving her a little dumbfounded on how to obey. It was one thing to just connect and share feelings, but give orders? She wasn't even sure words were possible through the bond. Deciding that since she'd followed his advice so far stopping now wouldn't be logical, she did her best. Closing her optics, she focused on the sensation of movement and the feeling of flight, hoping to convey herself clearly.

"Ah, there we are. Good reaction to stimulus." Ratchet noted, making her open her optics to see the sparkling flexing on the hologram. Tiny wing nubs flapped as the bitlet moved the small length of its pudgy body, surprising her with just how incredibly mobile they were capable of being.

"Primus... Why can't I feel that?" Slipstream asked, unable to detect anything but the bond. If they were truly inside of her, even suspended in fluid, shouldn't she have had some perception of it? The little bitlet was practically _dancing_...

"Body is still too small. Despite the size of this hologram, they're actually only about the size of say... one of your digit tips. Maybe a little less. Give them about two more months and you'll start being able to pick up on movement." Ratchet explained, surprising her again with the many intricacies she hadn't considered. Unconsciously touching two of her digits together, she tried to picture the tiny life she saw resting on the tip of just one of them, and nearly felt her processor buckle under the strain.

"I suppose." She replied simply, a little too lost in all this new information. In her defense, she was still dealing with far more changes than just those brought about by a sparkling.

"To get there they're gonna need lots of fuel though. Which reminds me; Teletraan-X?" Ratchet said, removing the scanner and the holo of the sparkling with it. There was barely a moment to feel a silly pang of loss before a voice came from the ceiling.

"Yes, Crewmember Ratchet? How may I assist?" A chipper tone rang out from above them, both startling her and triggering a long gone sense of deja vu. The faintest memory came back to her, harkening back to a time before all of this...

"I recognize that voice..." She said, interrupting any potential communication before it could begin. A vague memory hovered just out of her reach. It was obvious she'd heard this before, but wherever would that have been? There was certainly no one in her former ranks who spoke like that.

"And I recognize you! How are you feeling, not crew?" The voice replied, startling her to realization with two simple words.

"Ah, the little drone... Good you made it back, I guess." Slipstream mused, suddenly recalling how terribly frustrated she'd been attempting to interrogate the useless little thing. How ironic it was, that only now it would be of use to her.

'Yeah, anyway, Teletraan-X, did you get in the orders I asked for?" Ratchet said, bringing the attention back to the matter at hand.

"Indeed I did! All of our mineral stocks are quite well furnished; and the specific ores you requested have been processed as required and placed aside for delivery. Should I have them sent to you now?"

"Yeah. Send them here." He replied, looking to her pointedly. Despite not having known her for even a day, the medic had grown quite comfortable taking an authoritarian role with her. If only because he'd done so much for her already, she allowed it. "You've got a lot of catching up to do, so I expect everything on your tray to be eaten. Unless you're feeling sick, I don't want excuses."

No longer starving or nauseous thanks to his care, she was still feeling enough of a need for raw materials that she was certain she could finish whatever was given to her. "There will be no problem on that front, I assure you."

A knock on the door marked the rapid arrival of the supply delivery. Admittedly a little surprised by the speed, she wondered how the Autobots managed to get their grunts to work so expediently. Ratchet went to answer, opening one of the double doors and pausing in surprise when he saw the bot on the other side out of her range of sight.

"Oh, Windblade, I wasn't expecting-"

"I saw the delivery request and figured I'd be the best bot to nab it." The aforementioned femme explained, entering without heed to the very considerable shock her arrival produced in Slipstream. Having last seen her shortly after awakening, she'd hardly expected to bump into Windblade any time soon, and especially hadn't planned for her to come to her on purpose. Especially not with a tray of food in hand...

"Fine by me. Just make sure she finishes it all. I need to hit the lab and finish working on a few things. Somebot has to make sure Wheeljack doesn't mess with those schematics..." Ratchet noted, no longer surprised and not at all put off by her arrival. Going for the door, he left without another word, apparently trusting them to get along just fine.

"Why would you-?"

"Had to make sure you got these." Windblade said, dropping a few crystals she'd been hiding beneath the tray into her palm. Catching the vibrant red stones with surprise, Slipstream only found her bewilderment skyrocket when she recognized the almost forgotten shape of three well processed cinnabar crystals. Primus, it had been _millennia... _"Sorry it's not much, we only just got more in and it hasn't been processed yet."

"You remembered?" Was all she could say, only now recalling the other femme offering to bring her some. The chances had seemed so slim she hadn't even bothered to put any thought into the interaction beyond how odd it was that Windblade had seemed to care in the first place, but here she was, delivering on the request just a few hours later. It was absolutely unbelievable.

"I'll have more once I can get some. Just figured you could use the pick me up with... everything." Windblade said, laying the tray with the rest of her meal beside the berth. Slipstream had to wonder for a brief moment if she'd finally snapped, and everything she was seeing was just some mad hallucination. But she was too grounded to believe it. Still, knowing that all of this was really happening somehow didn't make it any easier to understand, but she couldn't help but feel a little grateful. When was the last time somebot had done anything like this for her? Even if their motivations made no sense to her, the Autobots were currently the reason she was alive and doing as well as she was, so she could stand to be a little less... prickly.

"It's... appreciated. Thank you." She said, trying not to look too desperate as she took one of the crystals into her mouth and crunched down. The sweet flavor she hadn't tasted in eons filled her mouth with a wave of nostalgia, followed shortly by the kick of spice that always hit after swallowing. There had been a time, before the war, where she'd eaten these until she was sick. Now these few were like an oasis in a desert... Windblade took the thanks with a genuine smile, then sat down on the berth beside her.

"And since you didn't want to "laze about", I also figured we could start working on using what you know for planning our next move. Assuming you're ready, of course-"

"I'm fine. Your medic just... completed some scans, and my health is more than optimal." Slipstream said, cutting her off with more of a business like tone than the rudeness she'd become used to having around Autobots. Despite the attempt to nanny her, she appreciated the other femme getting right to business. Just sitting about would quickly drive her mad, and she was eager to set about taking down the mech who had flipped her life on its head. Even if things were admittedly going better for her than expected, she was still looking forward to watching Starscream crash and burn for what he'd tried to put her through, and revenge was an excellent fuel to keep one going.

"Good." Windblade noted, sounding happy to hear it. Taking out a blank data pad and looking ready to work, she allowed Slipstream to eat the second piece of cinnabar before she said what every Autobot was already thinking. "For starters, what exactly _is_ Starscream planning? I know you tried to explain before, but I... couldn't quite follow."

Slipstream understood the others confusion. When they'd been in the shelter together with their then respective leaders, she'd definitely dumped quite a lot of information on them. If she hadn't been at the center of it all, she doubted she would have ever been able to follow along herself. Even now, in a calm medical bay, the words were hard to find. "It's... Primus, so much of it was just mad drivel." She started, not wanting in particular to go back to the bunker on her mind. Focusing on recalling only what was important, she began. "He wants to redo our species. He's definitely always been a jet supremacist, but he's taking it to an unimaginable extreme. Starscream wants a new race, in his own image, where flight is the only alt mode. With the Allspark unable to just create the bots he needed... or maybe... maybe he wouldn't care even if it could... The point is, he wanted to _sir_e this next generation. Physically."

"Oh, Primus..." Windblade gasped, looking a little nauseated as she put a hand over her mouth in horrified shock. "I... I knew he must have done something, but I didn't think... I thought he'd just used Vector Sigma or... Slipstream, I'm sorry."

"I chose to go along with his plan. It was my decision." Slipstream replied, not as... opposed to the comfort as she normally was. While she'd been in charge of her destiny, fragging Starscream wasn't one of the higher points in her life, and she didn't look back on the memory fondly. "I played along to look for an escape. I believe he initially intended to play a long game; wait out my cycle to see if I could produce what he wanted naturally. But he got impatient. Once he knew I was carrying a jet, he tried to use Vector Sigma to... accelerate the process. I ran before they could do anything. No doubt he's furious, and will likely do something very, very stupid as a result of it. Ordinarily I'd say that would be to our advantage, but with Vector Sigma _and_ the Allspark under his control... We may be in trouble."

"He's not getting to you, or the sparkling. We'll stop him before he gets close." Windblade promised, still shuddering from the horrid details of the story even if she was hearing them again. As before, Slipstream couldn't really bring herself to dismiss the attempt at comfort. Even being hardened by the Decepticons hadn't made her needlessly cruel, and if she were faced by a bot that had endured what she had, she certainly would have felt horror on their behalf. That didn't mean she _needed_ sympathy, of course. She was more than tough enough to handle the stress she'd endured and more without cracking.

"Of course he won't. I'm not going back to him, and neither is my sparkling. After I have this meal I can get a good look at your defenses and help where I can. Your security is now mine, after all." She said, eating the last piece of cinnabar and loving the long lost flavor so much she actually felt a pang of regret when she swallowed. Primus willing, Windblade would continue to be honest and get her more like she'd said.

"You'll want me to come with you. The whole ship knows you're living here now, but some company will keep any bot from making... comments." Windblade suggested, hesitating considerably on the last word. It was quite possible she wasn't sure exactly what kind of reaction a carrying, cast out Decepticon would draw from the Arks inhabitants. Having resigned herself to not quite understanding the other femme she no longer considered an enemy, she only commented idly on the situation as she ate some of the mercury rich ores that had been gathered for her.

"Odd, that you of all bots are my bodyguard."

"Bygones, remember? I'm past it if you are, if only because I don't want the first sparkling born in millions of years to grow up hating me." Windblade replied, lesss defensive than she'd been in the past.

"Of course. Keep providing me with bribes like this, and I'll ensure they tolerate you." Slipstream said with only a touch of sarcasm, far too content with her meal to care about much beyond the moment. Primus, it was like heaven compared to the garbage she'd been forcing down...

"It's not a bribe, it's just being nice. If I was going to bribe you, I'd expect you to name the sparkling after me." Windblade replied quickly, looking afraid she'd gone too far after speaking. Slipstream only let out a polite chuckle, glad to finally be spoken about frankly. It was hardly the type of interaction she wanted to dissuade. Sure it was odd coming from Windblade, but she'd happily take it over being treated like glass and whispered about. Carrying was her reality, not a curse, and she intended to let no bot treat her differently because of it.

"I would, but Obnoxious-Pain-In-My-Aft seems like a name too long and cruel for any bot."

Windblade took the taunt in stride, laughing either at the joke or the absurdity of who was making it. Regardless, the change in pace was nice, if incredibly odd. Slipstream had faced the Allspark, fragged her former boss, been sparked up, and ended a peace deal in just a few months though, so odd was hardly knew. The Autobots were her shelter from the storm raging outside, and she intended to ensure it was safe, for her sake and others.


	12. Contribution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have a perspective shift, but for now we're still with Slipstream as she navigates having bots who care for her. It's tough for our poor girl...

"How do you handle having ceilings so low? What happens if you need to report somewhere quickly?" Slipstream asked, having been looking up for a considerable amount of the short time they'd spent walking together to the Bridge after leaving the medical bay. It wasn't perhaps the most important question she'd be asking that day, but she couldn't help but be curious. The Nemesis had been built to ensure most jets could get their alt modes through the critical portions of the ship without having to worry about bumping into anyone or anything, which saved critical moments that could mean the difference between life and death in emergencies. Why would the Autobots deny themselves such an advantage?

"I run. The Ark is a reformatted cargo holder, and I'm the only flier on it regardless. It wouldn't make much sense to rebuild the whole ship just so I can get from place to place faster." Windblade replied, her explanation logical but also a little... sad. Seekers always sought out others of their kind for company, so to be the only one who could fly had to be rough. Of course, she was hardly alone now, was she? The Ark now had a whopping two jets counted amongst its residents. Well, two and... a half, in a way.

"Hmmm, understandable. At least your lights are brighter. I understand energy conservation, but I never liked how dark we kept our surroundings. It made sneaking around too easy." Slipstream said, genuinely appreciating how little darkness there was for an attacker to hide. It also reduced the likelihood of tripping over any errant items left out at night, something that had happened to her on the Nemesis more times than she cared to admit. 

"Yeah, we don't really take too kindly to that around here-"

Windblade was interrupted by a low level Autobot turning the corner in front of them, his contented expression going pale and his whole body freezing the moment he saw Slipstream before he turned on the spot and booked it in the other direction. There was an immediate awkward silence, as the greeting left little to the imagination in regards to how welcome she was.

"Are you certain I'll be allowed access to your communication center? It seems I'm not exactly an esteemed guest." Slipstream asked once they started walking again, watching the others expression very carefully. Flinching at the question, Windblade took a moment to find her words.

"Some bots just aren't very good at hiding their surprise. I've already made sure you're recognized by our security systems, so there's no need to worry."

"Hmph, I have a feeling I'll still be monitored closely."

"Just a little for regulations sake." Windblade reassured quickly, waving her hand as if to dismiss said regulations as little more than a minor detail. Quickly changing her tone and the topic, she looked a little more pleased about what she said next, but with all of her usual conviction still evident. "Optimus made it very clear that you're a guest, and that any bot who makes you feel unwelcome will speak to him personally for it. I don't think you have to worry about being disturbed."

Slipstream had to process the information in silence for a moment, even if it was in the same vein of what she'd been hearing since the moment of her arrival. Optimus had no desire to make her stay anything but pleasant, it seemed, as if she was a long lost friend and not an enemy kicked out by her old order. While Windblade she could potentially understand now, given her focus on moving beyond their individual rivalry and working together for the greater good, Optimus and his motivation eluded her. "Your Prime has risked much for me, it seems."

"Megatron crossed a line he wasn't willing to tolerate. No bot deserves to be a science project for Shockwave, even if a truce was possible." Windblade said without hesitation, unintentionally striking a nerve. Had she not been given this rescue, she'd be on the Nemesis right now, subjected to whatever horrors Shockwave felt like inflicting for the sake of his twisted science. It was a thought she never wanted to consider in depth. Just having it flash through her mind sent a stir of fear through her spark and bond, making her double down to soothe the echo of terror that came back to her.

"We can agree on that much."

They were silent the remainder of the short walk to the Bridge, but Slipstream used the time to try and get a better hold of her new surroundings. Autobot alphabet was foreign to her, but their setup hardly made more sense, and the lack of defensive measures around every corner was slowly starting to prove more than a little worrisome. Where were the turrets? The signal detectors for tracking foreign entities in the ship? Or even simple cover spots to take shelter in the event of enemy fire? Absolutely nothing seemed to be prepared for the event of an invasion, and with her current status as an inhabitant, that worried her considerably. Thoughts of how she could possibly get the Ark capable of handling an assault distracted her so thoroughly she didn't even notice when they arrived at the Bridge, and barely came around in time to see Optimus Prime and the Autobot she knew as Grimlock discussing something right as they entered. 

"Windblade, Slipstream, we have been expecting your arrival. Grimlock has been preparing the communication system as requested for updates." Optimus said once he saw them, ceasing his conversation with a rather unhappy looking Grimlock. The dinobot made a point to look down at her with a frown, hands on his hips as he added a very sharp addendum to the Primes welcome.

"Updates that, I hope you don't mind, I would like to watch very closely."

Not one to back down, Slipstream affixed the much larger bot with an equally unhappy look. Crossing her arms, she made a point to speak with all the authority she had a right to in the situation. "I can use the Decepticon codes I know to allow you to better track Seeker communications. Starscream will undoubtedly need to communicate with his subordinates, and an improvement to your range of detection should make it possible to intercept when he does so." There were a few elements missing from her proposal, but it was the most basic explanation of the first and largest contribution she could make to finding the mech who threatened them all. After all, knowing where he was would remove the element of surprise, and that was among Starscreams greatest advantages. 

"Of course, thank you for your contributions, Slipstream." Optimus said with gratitude, making her a little uncomfortable and capable of only nodding in acknowledgement. He was, after all, a very large mech and her former enemy in addition to his status as a Prime. Having him treat her with consideration was just too strange. Grimlock guided them wordlessly to the communication console, opening up the full program before stepping aside and gesturing for her to get to work. Hiding a sudden pang of doubt, she stepped forward with the sudden and rather embarrassing realization that she'd never worked on a non Decepticon system without encryption aides to help her, and that as a result she wasn't even quite capable of reading basic Autobot text, let alone navigating their systems. Much of the screen appeared to be total gibberish. Keeping a thoughtful expression, she scanned what she saw in a vain attempt to appear confident before deciding that survival beat out pride.

"I'll... need some assistance getting in. Your systems are still a little foreign to me." She admitted with a small cough, not looking at either of the other bots to avoid any potential smug looks at her predicament.

"Oh, I can help!" The monitor seemed to say, surprising her until she recognized the impossible enthusiasm of the ships operating system, Teletraan-X. The little drone pinged his chat onto the screen, speaking with considerable excitement as he always did. "I've been given express approval to assist you, not crew!"

"Well then, I'll need your readout to be in Decepticon script. I have the codes for Seeker communication channels memorized." She instructed, recalling the many hours she'd spent inputting the data into various pieces of Decepticon technology, having to perform the task so often thanks to tech being damaged in combat that she'd just memorized it. 

"How useful! Please go ahead and enter your information in the highlighted zone, and I will begin processing!" Teletraan-X guided, shifting his readout to legible script and, just as he'd promised, highlighting where the codes would need to be entered. Remembering the countless failed interrogation attempts with the little drone they'd stumbled upon, she couldn't help but be thankful now that she hadn't had Acid Storm tear open its processor and try to strip out any relevant information... How fate changed without warning. 

"Why won't Starscream simply put his communications on a new frequency? He has to know he's going to be tracked." Grimlock interrupted just as she began to type in earnest, breaking her concentration suddenly enough that she couldn't keep back a very displeased frown. The tone was more than just simple questioning; he was suspicious. It was a very poor choice of timing for an Autobot to finally decide not to trust her, and she was immensely frustrated by the lack of strategic thought in the accusation. What exactly would she do? Upload a virus? And to what end, with her old cause ordered to kill her on sight and a power mad mech out to reclaim her?

"Jets have pretty particular comm systems, so we're easy to track on closed channels. These frequencies probably took a while to set up even with ample resources." Windblade spoke up, saving her the trouble she would have gotten in to if she snapped. 

"Correct, so he can't modify them much." Slipstream added, grateful for the other femmes presence. Having even a single bot she could sort of rely on to see the big picture made this far more doable, and the unexpected support from one of his own seemed to have calmed Grimlock into silence. 

Only for a moment, that is, but his second question was more inquisitive than accusatory. "What's to stop the Decepticons from trying this same trick?"

"They don't have these codes. Seeker command on earth was squarely under Starscream, and then myself. Megatron never cared much for the goings on of his fliers." Slipstream said, suddenly quite happy upon remembering the fact. Their high class status before the war often earned them the ire of the other troops, but where was that attitude getting her fellow soldiers now? No doubt the Nemesis was a wreck trying to figure out how to track Starscream without her. It served them well.

"So he'll have to program everything from scratch." Windblade said with enthusiasm, clearly enjoying the implications of Megatron reaping what he'd sowed. Holding back a smile of satisfaction at the shared reaction, Slipstream entered the last of the codes and allowed the operating system to process them, a visible stream of data surging across the screen as the new capabilities were tested.

"This programming is quite fascinating! I can already detect communications beyond my previous range!" Teletraan-X said in delight, bringing up all the data they'd recorded in the past and revealing the new findings the codes had allowed. 

"Can you pinpoint a location?" She asked quickly, not having expected such a quick turnaround. A map appeared on the screen to visualize the search, and a number of locations were pinged across the planet along with the times of their detection. The excitement she'd felt a moment ago quickly evaporated. 

"Hmmm... Nothing quite recent enough to warrant investigation; all of these communications were spread and very brief, and none were recent enough to be worth acting on." Teletraan-X explained, putting the reason for her dissapointment into words. How like Starscream, to quickly find a way to evade every form of detection. No doubt he was strategizing how he and his subordinates sent messages to make it impossible to find a pattern to their movements. The natural speed of flight also made it incredibly difficult to keep up; thanks to the innate ability of Seekers to remove themselves from a location long before a pursuer could get there.

"He's communicating in bursts, I often did the same... He's also likely using natural signal dampeners to hide much of the frequency traffic..." She mused thoughtfully, trying to think of any way to salvage the situation. Primus, it was also likely be was hiding underground in a new location, now that she thought about it. He certainly hadn't minded keeping her in the missile silo...

"We knew he'd be slick. This still gives us more information than we had before." Windblade assured, stepping forth and giving a nod of approval that could also have been taken as reassurance. 

"Indeed." Grimlock noted behind them, and Slipstream realized that was likely the closest she would get to a thanks for now. It was actually more polite than what she would have received on the Nemesis, so she took it. At least he had the ability to recognize that she was offering genuine assistance.

"So that's the communication systems; did you have anything else for the bridge?" Windblade asked, gesturing to the many consoles that served as the central areas for the Arks key systems. Truthfully, she didn't have anything prepared at that moment save for the codes, not being much of an engineer. She did, however, have an excellent sense of strategy, and that could be put to better use if she knew what she was working with.

"More of a question, truthfully." She said, looking about the bridge for signs of defensive measures she may have missed and, once more. finding nothing. "Where are your internal weapons? If Starscream, or even the Decepticons, ever managed to board your Ark I can't imagine they'd be too hard pressed to take the ship if they caught you by surprise."

"Not to interrupt; but I can answer this as well!" Teletraan-X said, having been quite occupied with his new scanner until she spoke up. "The Ark is outfitted with a complex transformation based matrix that I control! Our weapons can be relocated as needed to suppress enemy forces wherever they may be. I can even establish a turret here in the bridge, like so!"

Every bot present jumped as a full sized turret dropped from the low ceiling and pointed at Slipstream, making her jump so fast and far backwards in alarm she nearly tripped over herself. Just as the laser began to hum in a very impressive display of power, Grimlock and Windblade jumped before her, arms up as they tried to talk down the unpredictable operating system.

"A helpful show, Teletraan-X! You can put it away!"

"I concur, there is no need for weapons at present!"

The laser returned to its spot beneath the movable sections of the ceiling, leaving poor Slipstream more than a little panicked despite the now undeniable proof that the Ark was not only armed but ready for an attack with surprises of its own. That information hardly slowed the panic beating of her pump, however. Even the sparkling was fluttering around at her panic, parroting her emotions until she calmed it with a sense of reassurance. A part of her was a little ashamed to have been caught so off guard on what had been an enemy ship until very recently. Teletraan-X, for his part, didn't seem at all alarmed by the miscommunication.

"Of course! I would never fire at a guest unless ordered to do so; this was simply a helpful display of our defensive capabilities!"

"Very... very helpful..." Slipstream gasped, trying to get herself completely calm once more for the sake of presentation. The Autobots were more capable than she thought, hiding their weapons and designing them to appear anywhere without warning. Megatron just had his everywhere, and in very plain sight, in part because he loved the bonus of ensuring his subordinates he could terminate them with a simple command on the bridge. This was less cruel, but somehow... more devious. If they'd have wanted to terminate her, they most certainly could have done it by now, and that was a realization she wasn't sure how to decipher.

"Well, I'd say that's enough work for now! Let's get to a general tour of the rest of the ship." Windblade said in a rush, guiding her gently but insistently by the arm to the exit. Willing to be gone herself, Slipstream followed without hesitation.

"I'll... work on Teletraan-X to get the most of this new system. I shall sound the alarm if anything new appears." Grimlock said after them, a little awkward as well. The aforementioned operating system only gave a much more enthusiastic goodbye, oblivious to his faux pas. 

"...Sorry about that." Windblade apologized as soon as they were out the door, putting her forehelm into her hand in mortification. "Teletraan-X still has some... issues, in his programming for handling of bots that aren't crew members."

"I'd appreciate if our next stop could be somewhere he... isn't." Slipstream replied simply, knowing that the little drone was everywhere as an operating system but hoping her point was still understood. The sparkling was still sending her frightened little flutters through the bond, and she didn't know quite how to calm them down while she was still buzzing. Primus, she wasn't quite sure how to calm herself down all the way. With the now very hard to ignore fact that the ship had weapons everywhere pressing down on her, she could feel her natural distrust prickling to the surface. Sure, Windblade could potentially be relied on, but how many other bots were on this ship? Any one of them could give an order at any time, and rid themselves of a bot they clearly didn't trust...

"Let's try the hanger. Lots of space, not much company." Windblade said quickly, picking up on the need for something to fix their present predicament. The intuition was helpful, but didn't fix their current predicament entirely. Some kind of Decepticon instinct had been reawakened within her, and Slipstream couldn't help but flick her optics about every time she thought she saw a sudden flash of movement. With her time on the ship being so short, could she really say she was safe with any level of certainty? 

Windblade seemed to read her uncertainty far more effectively than she'd hoped, looking at her with concern as she spoke up again. "I hope Teletraan-X didn't frighten you too badly. We'd never turn a weapon on a refugee; the Autobot Code is pretty strict on that." 

"I was merely surprised. Hopefully your former droid is capable of making effective use of my codes." She replied quickly, a little flustered to have been read like a data pad. Showing those nerves wasn't exactly a good survival tactic, even if the femme beside her wasn't her most likely threat. Truthfully she should have had a better hold on herself, but the sparkling fluttering anxiously through their bond was making it difficult. Primus, it was like having a little nervous bundle of energy right beside her spark... 

"With Grimlock to manage it, we'll probably have results soon. Starscream won't know what hit him." The other femme assured with confidence. While she ordinarily would have given some kind of mildy sarcastic reply, she could only give a small nod of affirmation, a little distracted by the antics of the tiny being within her. At this point its emotions felt almost exaggerated, like a bot acting on a stage instead of reacting naturally, and she wasn't sure if it was a sign of something to be worried about or not.

A sudden burst in her spark, painless but powerful, made her jolt on the spot with a gasp and a defensive hand flying up to her chest.

Windblade whirled at her reaction, frazzled then concerned by the look of scared shock and the hand over her still fritzing spark. The other femme grabbed her shoulder to steady her, looking frightened by the outburst as she searched for any sign of damage. "What's wrong?! Are you hurt?!" 

"No!" Slipstream blurted in alarm, still shocked by the unexpected sensation and trying to get a hold of herself. Taking a few quick vents, she kept a steadying hand over her spark to bring herself back down to a state of calm so she could actually analyze what had happened. "Just... the sparkling..." Starting to speak as her brain module processed what had happened, the words tumbled out as they came to her, reality becoming grounded as the explanation took shape. "It likes to... play, with emotions, I think. The result is less than comfortable." 

"But not painful?" Windblade asked, her face a mix of many emotions that included flashes of curiosity and apprehension. Releasing her shoulders, she stepped back to allow the other femme room.

"No." Slipstream replied in a sigh, the bond in her spark radiating a calm exhaustion now that the sparkling had finished its little experiment. The burst made her suddenly apprehensive to think that the little bitlet would only be getting bigger and would soon be large enough to make its presence felt physically. If it could do that with just its spark, what would it be like when it could kick? 

"Oh. That's... good. Are you able to keep going? You look like you got spooked pretty bad-"

"I'm fine. They just surprised me, and I'm carrying, not dying." She said definitively, crossing her arms and trying not to ruin her certainty with an embarrassing blush at the concern. Thus far the worst thing she'd faced on this ship was the constant nannying. While the medical care was certainly appreciated, if it came with months of being treated like she could break at any moment, it would hardly be worth it. Of course she knew that it came from a bot meaning well, but that didn't soothe her pride.

"Right, sorry I... I don't know what to say sometimes." Windblade apologized, averting her optics and putting a hand on the back of her neck. There was a hint of want in her voice, as if she hoped for an answer but didn't quite have the ability to ask for one. Slipstream found herself wanting to give her guidance for the sake of future interactions.

"Just don't treat me like I'm delicate. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself." She replied simply, hunching forward a little to hide the tiny bulge of her midsection. If they were going to be working together and she would be living here, it would do her well to make her needs heard, particularly regarding the titan in the room. Windblade smiled at the advice, thankful and relieved to have it.

"I can do that. Let's just get to the hanger, you can get a look at our shuttles and-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have some big news!" Teletraan-X quipped from above, his voice giving both a jolt that quickly turned to annoyance upon their recognition. "There's a very important transmission that has just been picked up by our sensors!"

Slipstream perked up into action mode, her whole body excited and afraid about the possibility. If Starscream had already been detected, a rapid fire response would be needed to make use of the heads up. "The codes already got something?"

"Oh no! This a transmission sent directly to us! Straight from the Nemesis!"


End file.
